The Dark Artifices: Lady Midnight
by The Pale Red Queen
Summary: It's been five years since the Mortal War. And the Shadow World is still healing from its dark past. Emma Carstairs, alongside her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, team up together to investigate a demonic plan that may not only be plaguing their own city of Los Angeles, but also the world. What would they have to do to stop it? What choices will they have to make?
1. Where the Demons Hide

**Heyyyy guys! So, I've never really published anything on the TMI fandom and I felt that I should not always stick to TID. Hehe. I've been looking around, and I was sad to see that there are virtually no fics on Cassie's new series, The Dark Artifices. I decided to try and write what I thought would happen in the first book, Lady Midnight. Initially, I planned to do this a year from now after COHF, but I was way too eager, especially with that teaser Cassie posted yesterday :D So yeah. Here is what I have so far. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! Except TDA once it comes out ;)**

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**Chapter 1: Where the Demons Hide**

BAM. The mound exploded, sending grains of sand and bits of ichor in every direction. The Moloch demon lay sprawled out on the beach ground, as a seraph blade was delivered through it in one, fluid motion. Just like that, the demon was gone and disappeared into its home dimension, not to return for a while, not a trace of evidence left behind.

Emma Carstairs drew her blade back, wiping it clean on her gear. She lowered her witchlight stone to the ground to ensure that the demon was gone. Sure enough, there was not a trace of ichor where it once lay dying. A grin spread across Emma's face, as she pushed her long, blonde hair back away from her face.

Suddenly, another Moloch demon popped out of nowhere, dashing towards Emma, her lips fading from the grin to a thin line of concentration. Its claws seamlessly treaded across the sand, and its pace quickening as it came closer to her. Its eyes were alight with a jet of fire burning straight at her. Emma spread her legs apart and bent down, bracing herself. She held out her seraph blade and muttered _Ambriel_ under her breath; her blade came to life and blazed white. When the demon was just an arm's length away, Emma struck out her blade and delivered it straight home. The demon squealed and writhed back in pain, shrinking away until there was nothing. Emma grinned again at her success. Two down in less than a minute.

"Guys, did you just see that?" Emma shouted out eagerly to her companions, "record time for killing that! I bet none of you could beat that."

Unfortunately, no one replied to her. Emma squinted her eyes and scanned the vast beach in front of her, which did not help that much since it was nearing midnight and the usually crowded Santa Monica was completely deserted with not a soul in view for miles. Emma frowned, disappointed that no one was there. Usually she hunted with the Blackthorns, Cristina, and Jaime. They had made this a nightly routine, starting about a year ago. For Shadowhunters underage, it was strictly forbidden that they left their fortified homes after nightfall. Emma and her friends, however, hated this curfew and even more hated that they could not get the true Shadowhunting experience that others once had. So, they had decided to make these nightly rendezvouses instead. _Practice makes perfect_, Emma's parents would constantly remind her. That was when they were alive. Emma shook her head, clearing the memories of their deaths out of the head. It did not good for Emma to mourn for them all the time, especially since it had been five years since they had passed on.

Emma turned her attention away from her parents and back to her friends. "Guys?" Emma called out, panic lacing her voice. At least her _parabatai_ should have shown up. She then heard a rustling noise and felt some movement out of the corner of her eye. "Jules?" Emma called out. No response.

She made her way towards where she thought she heard the noise, at the foot of the ocean. The water came creeping out and barely touched her feet when Emma screamed and leapt back. Emma's greatest fear was the ocean, especially the ocean in the darkness. Hunting at the beach during midnight was not the perfect idea for Emma, but then again, she had to learn how to conquer her fears.

A blaze of bright light suddenly came from the ocean and into the horizon towards the night sky. Then, just like that at the blink of an eye, it was gone. Emma, confused, backed away from the ocean, unsure about what could come next. And unsure she was. The water rippled and then suddenly a great, scaled monster sprung up from the ocean. It had a multitude of tentacle legs, no eyes, and a large mouth lined with hundreds of razor sharp teeth. Emma let out a scream that she had been containing and stumbled backwards onto a mound of sand. The water demon propelled itself towards her, faster than she could even react. Emma reached in her weapons belt, searching for her favourite weapon, Cortana. The demon was coming closer and closer when it screeched in pain, letting out an earsplitting howl. Something – no someone – had attacked it from behind. The demon bled out ichor and seawater and like all other demons, disappeared.

Standing where the demon once lay was a tall, lanky figure. He thrust his blade into his weapons belt and made his way towards Emma. Even in the darkness, Emma could make out his blue-green eyes. He held out his hand, waiting for Emma to take it.

"You finally decided to show up Jules," Emma said stubbornly, refusing to take his hand. Julian Blackthorn, her closest friend and _parabatai_, gave her a small smile, his hand still outstretched.

"You're welcome for that," said Julian calmly.

"I was handling it perfectly fine," Emma protested. She was one of the fiercest Shadowhunters since Jace Herondale and to be brought down by a water demon, and a lesser one of that, would have been pathetic.

"Sure you were," Julian said lazily with an undercurrent of sarcasm.

"No one was coming. And you know how I am with water Jules." With that, he conceded, knowing that water was a territory he could never get into a fight about with Emma.

Julian shrugged his shoulders, his hand still out for her. "Let's get going. The others are probably worried where we both are, most likely where _you_ are. We were able to kill all the Moloch demons in this area, so we best be on our way before Dad finds we're missing." Emma looked away from him stubbornly. "Come on Em. You can't be mad forever."

Emma looked up at his hand and then away. She got up by herself, struggling against the slippery sand, making it a point to do so without Julian's help. She stood next to Julian, about to leave without him when she realized she had no idea where the others were. Emma was a tall, especially for a girl of seventeen, almost five ten. In fact, she was taller than most boys she had dated. But next to Julian and his six two build, she felt a lot smaller.

Julian casually put his arm around her, and she flinched away from him. "What?" hurt flooded his eyes. Emma turned away from him. "You know that I would never leave you," he said truthfully.

"Yeah, of course," Emma said stubbornly, and Julian relaxed, "that is only because of the _parabatai_ rules."

Julian stiffened and Emma immediately regretted saying that. She loved him fiercely, and she knew that he reciprocated those feelings for her. Not in a romantic way, but in a way that ran deeper than the rune that bound them together by oath. Even if they were not _parabatai_, Emma would sacrifice anything for him, since they were the closest of friends.

"Please Em, don't do this to me. You know I would protect you no matter what, oath or no oath," Julian said, echoing her thoughts exactly.

Emma took a deep breath in and out, flushing out all of the negative energy from her. She looked up at him and smiled at him, a genuine smile, her dark blue eyes alight. He returned this by pulling her into a tight embrace, knowing with all his heart that she believed him.

"There you two are!" Emma and Julian immediately sprang apart and saw Cristina Mendoza Rosales racing towards them. Cristina was another one of Emma's closest friends. She was a Shadowhunter along with the rest of them, but came from Mexico City to live and train in the Los Angeles Institute. Her gold medallion shone against her chest in the moonlight. She was wearing the same black gear as the rest of them, and her usual long, black hair was neatly tied back into a neat bun. Even amidst all the fighting, not even a strand of hair and come out loose across her face. "I see Jules finally found you."

"It's not like I was lost," Emma said exasperatedly, throwing her hands up in the air, "I was doing just fine when a demon came out of nowhere."

"More like she needed me to do the saving," Julian added. Emma friendly punched his arm. No hard feelings.

"Oh so you needed Jules to help you out. So much about handling yourself, Em," Cristina said jokingly as Julian winked at her.

"You too are unbearable," Emma said laughing and shaking her head. Although, Tina did have a point; Emma did insist she could fight on her own this one night.

Tina laughed and quickly hugged Emma, which Emma happily returned. "Let's go back to the car. The others are waiting for us," Tina said and led Emma and Julian towards where they were parked.

The car, as it turned out, was not as far as Emma anticipated, so there was no awkward silence that transpired between the three of them. Instead, they recounted what happened during their fights. Cristina, alongside Jaime, Olivia, and Julian, were able to get rid of the rest of the Moloch demons, which, as it turns out, was only three more. Cristina had sent Julian to go find Emma after they had waited a while. Apparently, Emma had strayed away further than the group had anticipated. Emma did not mind though.

Jaime Rosales was leaning casually against his family van. He was Cristina's cousin and the only one of the Shadowhunters who lived in Los Angeles but not in the Institute. Tina had decided to live in the Institute to increase her training. Jaime was already at Shadowhunter adult age and found it only necessary to go to the Institute when needed. Because of this, he was their personal chaperone on their missions. He was still a constant presence there and it was almost as if he lived there. Not to mention that Julian's little sister, Drusilla, had a huge crush on him. Emma had to admit, but he was quite the looker. With his muscular build and tall height, alongside the striking black hair and caramel coloured skin, he was pretty hot. He smiled as Cristina, Emma, and Julian approached him. Like Cristina, he was also from Mexico, but had less of an accent since he had been living in the States for a longer time.

"See, I told you they would come," Tina told Jaime, returning his smile.

"You're finally here!" Olivia said, appearing from the shotgun seat of the car. She, like Julian, had the same brown hair and blue-green eyes, but was nine months younger than him. "Come on, we can't wait all day! We best be on their way," she said eagerly. Of course, Livvy had to always felt it was her job to protect the family. Protecting as in rushing them home so they would not be caught by her parents past curfew.

Tina climbed to the back of the van, as Emma and Julian sat in the middle and Jaime took up the driver's seat. As soon as their seatbelts clicked into place, Jaime set off towards the Los Angeles Institute. Emma's heart was pounding so hard she was scared that the others might here her. But she could care less. She could only hope, like all the other times, that the Blackthorn parents would not find them missing.

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**There you have it! It's only slow now, but I promise it'll build up as the story continues. If anyone has any TDA predictions they would like to see incorporated in this story, just PM me! Also, could we get five reviews for the next chapter? :)**


	2. Family Matters

**Chapter 2: Family Matters**

Jaime drove back carefully to the Los Angeles Institute, being sure to not catch attention from any late night stragglers. Everyone was unusually quiet, especially Emma, who was normally the big talker in the group.

"You know, I could never understand why we can't glamour cars," Livvy said in a bored tone, breaking the silence, "it would make things much easier."

"Yeah, but imagine if someone crashed into us," Julian said realistically, as if it were obvious, "they wouldn't be able to see us, and then we'd be in trouble. And whose fault would that be?" Livvy rolled her eyes at that, and focused her attention on the road, even though she was not the one driving. Emma internally laughed at that. _Sibling rivalry_, she thought. She felt sort of bad for Julian in a way. Having not one, but seven other siblings was quite overwhelming. Julian always found it hard to fight for attention with so many other children in the house that he resorted to painting as his refuge. Abstract painting to be exact.

"We're here," Jaime announced, pulling Emma away from her thoughts. Sure enough, they were there. The Los Angeles Institute was a looming structure that stood out among other buildings in Los Angeles. It was situated between Santa Monica and West Hollywood, not far from where the five Shadowhunters were hunting earlier. To normal mundanes, the Institute looked like a run down warehouse that no one would bother to enter. But to Shadowhunters, the Institute took the shape of a Gothic church, like all the other institutes in the Western world. The beauty was in the eye of the beholder, and even after five years of living there, it still took Emma's breath away.

Jaime slowed the car around the corner and parked it near the rear entrance of the Institute. The Blackthorns rarely used it, so it was safer to go in and out from there. Everyone climbed out of the van and thanked Jaime, with Julian giving the other boy a pat on his shoulder. Jaime and Julian were close in the way that Emma and Cristina were, but were not knit together in the way that Emma and Julian were. But still, they were best friends.

"So, same time tomorrow night?" Jaime asked the group, as he climbed back into his van.

"Yup, we'll see you then," Julian said. With that, Jaime nodded and drove away, disappearing from sight.

Julian turned around towards the entrance and squared his shoulders. Emma recognized this behavior immediately; this happened every time they returned from their outings. Julian, as well as the rest of them, was nervous to be caught by his parents, which was understandable. Even though they were most likely asleep and never used this entrance, there was still a slight chance that they could get caught. They had been lucky thus far.

Julian reached into his pant pocket and pulled out a weathered silver key. He inserted it into the keyhole and gently pushed the door, swinging it only slightly open so they could all get in. One by one they went inside: Julian, Livvy, Cristina, and then finally Emma. They had all applied soundless runes beforehand so no one could hear them. Emma then locked the door and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They were safe inside now. Or so they thought.

A figure loomed in the distance at the far end of the corridor, walking towards them quite quickly. Livvy let out a loud gasp, and everyone turned to her, giving her a deathly look. Livvy slapped her hand immediately over her mouth, while her eyes widened in shock. Emma grabbed for Julian's hand, and he squeezed hers assuredly, sending warmth and comfort through her veins. _This is it_, Emma thought, _this is the time we finally get caught_. She sucked in her breath, preparing for what they all anticipated.

"Why is everyone acting so surprised? It's only me," Tiberius Blackthorn stood in front of the other Shadowhunters, a witchlight stone, which had not been there before, held before his face.

"Oh, Tibs!" Livvy exclaimed, and threw herself onto her brother, embracing him hard. Tiberius's face reddened quickly in embarrassment; he wasn't one for affection. In return, he patted her in the back. Livvy finally released them, and Tiberius looked at the others.

Tiberius Blackthorn was rather the odd one out of the family. Apart from Helen and Mark Blackthorn, who had another mother who was a faerie, Tiberius was different in both appearance and personality. For one, he did not follow the Blackthorn pattern of having chocolate brown hair and blue-green eyes. Tiberius was very scrawny and had curling black hair and stormy gray eyes, as opposed to his fraternal twin, Livvy, who had the typical Blackthorn look. Although they both had curling lashes and full, cupid's bow lips. Apart from that, Tiberius did not fight that much, despite having Shadowhunter marks and undergoing proper ceremonies. He was more of a Sherlock Holmes type guy, or so he considered himself to be, although no one understood why. He spent hours in the library and thought that reading stuff up was more useful than hunting. He never was interested in joining the others on their nightly excursions.

"You were gone for two hours and forty-three minutes," said Tiberius in his usual monotone voice, "which, may I add, is an hour and thirteen minutes longer than the day before. Your average for the past year has been an hour and twenty-nine minutes, and this deviation may mess up my calculations…"

"Really, Ty?" said Julian, who had not yet spoken to his younger brother. Julian and Tiberius had a rather complex relationship, although they still loved each other.

"My calculations tell me that you must have encountered some sort of hindrance to cause this deviation," Tiberius continued, using all his technical language that made Emma's head hurt.

"Blame Emma," laughed Livvy, "Miss I-can-do-it-alone thought she could handle it herself."

"I had it under control!" Emma almost shouted at Livvy. She was in no mood to have the younger Blackthorn check her temper.

"Sure you did," Livvy smirked. Cristina chuckled. Emma had nearly forgotten that her best friend was even there.

"Okay that's it," Emma reached for Cortana, ready to swing it at Livvy.

"Girls, that's enough!" Julian yelled at both of them, grabbing Emma's right hand that was ahold of Cortana. Emma looked up into her _parabatai's _eyes; Julian rarely got angry and an understanding passed between the two of them and Emma's rage gradually subsided. She gave him a smile, but Julian did nothing in return. Tiberius was watching the whole ordeal silently, an indifferent look across his face. "Besides," Julian went on, turning to the others, "we don't want to wake my parents with all this racket." He was right. They were doing a good job about keeping quiet up until this point.

"May I ask what really occurred tonight?" Tiberius asked them all.

"We encountered a whole herd of Moloch demons by the Santa Monica pier," Julian said matter-of-factly, keeping his expression leveled, his angular features pronounced in the witchlight.

"How many were there?" Tibs asked.

"I dunno, around least eight or nine. Tina, Livvy, and I killed seven, and Emma at least one."

"Not to mention that other one you killed," Emma added. Julian looked at her and he understood what she meant by this.

"Nine? That's quite a lot," Tiberius, who usually kept a poker face expression, looked surprised for a change.

"Why are you surprised?" Livvy said.

"Well, according to most sources, Moloch demons usually appear in groups of two, maybe three maximum. It is unusual to meet four of them, and it has never been heard of to see nine," said Tiberius. Leave it to him to know the facts right off the bat. "It just does not make any sense. I wonder why –"

"Jules! Livvy! Tina! Em!" someone – a girl – shouted from not far. Everyone looked up to see Drusilla Blackthorn running towards them, with little Octavian and Ariadne Blackthorn at her heel.

"Shhhh you guys!" Julian tried to quiet them down, not for the second time during the night. "We don't want to wake Mom and Dad. They would kill us if they found out we were breaking the Law."

"Oops," Silla giggled and slowed her pace down, with the little ones following her lead.

"Why are you covered in gold stuff?" Tavvy asked curiously, pointing at the golden ichor on the Shadowhunters' gear. Tavvy and Ariadne knew that Julian, Emma, Cristina, Livvy, and occasionally Mark went out nightly, but were oblivious to what exactly they did. Mark Blackthorn was currently in Idris to finish his studies with no distractions, being one year older than Julian and Emma.

"Why are you not sleeping as good little boys and girls should be?" Livvy asked them, matching their tone.

"We couldn't sleep!" Tavvy said, all innocence reflected in his blue-green eyes.

"Yeah," Ariadne added, waddling over to them, "and you guys are back late. We're going to tell Mom and Dad!"

"No, you can't!" Emma said in alarm. If the Blackthorn parents found out… oh God, they would be screwed.

"Why not?" Tavvy questioned them.

"Because, you can't," Emma replied. _Lame_, Emma thought, mentally hitting herself on the head.

"If you don't tell them, then we will all take you out for ice cream," said Tina. Octavian and Ariadne's eyes immediately widened and they grinned.

"Okay, we promise we won't say anything!" said Tavvy, and Ariadne nodded eagerly. Tina was always good with kids and knew just the right way to treat them. Emma wished she could be like that.

"Where's Jaime?" Drusilla asked out of the blue. Emma adored the way Drusilla had a crush on Jaime, in a thirteen year-old girly sort of way. Jaime, of course, was totally clueless to this.

"He already went home," said Tina, although Emma could tell that her friend was suppressing her laugh. Drusilla looked disappointed.

"Speaking of which, I think it's high time that we all go to sleep," Julian announced.

"But we only just got here!" Drusilla said with a tinge of desperation. Julian gave her one stern look, and she instantly subdued.

"Yeah, I think we should _all_ go to sleep," Livvy said, emphasizing Julian's point. The little ones usually listened to Livvy. And Emma, feeling a sudden wave of tiredness, could not agree more.

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Emma eventually made it to her room, which was conveniently the furthest place from the back entrance in one of the high towers of the Institute. Everyone else, except Tiberius, returned to their designated sleeping quarters. Tiberius resided to the library as usual, where he often fell asleep. Emma never could see how someone could read so much without getting a headache.

Although her room was far away from everyone else's, it was close to the Blackthorn parents'. As she slipped into her room, she had to be especially quiet. It was pitch dark inside, so Emma flipped on the lights. Her room looked like any other room in the Institute. It was a decent size, with a full bed in the center, a dresser with a mirror to a corner, and an attached bathroom to the side. Emma was not much into decorations or anything. The most she had done was painted her room a mint green, one of her favourite shades.

Emma immediately unfastened her weapons belt and slung it over a chair in her room. She took Cortana out and carefully leant it against the wall. She then walked to her dresser and pulled out a black pair of sleep shorts and a black cotton tank top. She took off her gear and hid it under her bed, wanting to deal with the demon mess on it later. She slipped into her jammies and braided her long blonde hair, then pulled back her curtains and opened her window before turning out the lights.

Moonlight flooded the room. Emma crossed her room towards the window and stared out, allowing the cool, summer breeze to wash her face. She loved looking out at the Pacific Ocean. Water was good, as long as it was at a distance. It looked so serene late at night. There were no crazy tourists running around at the beach and no dude surfing about. There was just the ocean, the pull of the tide gently rolling the waters along, nothing disturbing it.

Suddenly, towards the horizon a bright light appeared from beneath the ocean, pointing up towards the heavens. It was the same light that Emma saw earlier that night when she was out hunting, though no monster seemed to appear. Emma shook her head, thinking she was imagining. She was imagining it, right? She had told no one about what she had seen before. Though maybe, she should… just to be on the safe side.

Julian. Julian would understand.

Emma went to her dresser and opened a drawer, pulling out her witchlight and sliding it into the pocket of her shorts. Then, she went to her door and once again, quietly pulled it open before closing it. The hallway was completely black. Emma drew out her witchlight and illuminated her path, ever so slightly. She then tiptoed down the stairs barefoot, careful not to wake anyone up.

Julian's room was not far from hers. It was close to the base of the tower, luckily. Emma reached it, then knocked on his door, trying not to be too loud. Emma crossed her arms across her chest stubbornly and waited. Nothing. She knocked again. Still no response. Emma turned to go when she heard footsteps and the door swung open, and Julian appeared, all dishelved.

"Em?" Julian said, concern spread across his face, "I thought you went to bed a while ago."

"Sorry to wake you up," Emma said apologetically, looking at her _parabatai_, then at her feet. Judging by his appearance, Julian had been asleep before she came. He was in dark blue shorts and a black t-shirt, and his hair was mussed from sleep. She felt guilty for having wakened him up. "I best be going then," Emma turned around to leave, not wanting to disturb him even more.

Julian reached for her arm and pulled her into his room. "I'm already awake. You might as well tell me what's wrong."

Emma nodded, then made her way to his bed and plopped down on it. Even in the dim light from the witchlight, Emma knew Julian's room by heart just like he knew hers. Julian shut the door and came and sat down next to her.

"You know earlier tonight when we were hunting and that water demon attacked us?" Emma said. Julian was silent, and Emma continued, "Well before you came, I saw this strange light come. It was bright and went from the sea straight up to the heavens."

"I know," Julian said, eerily calm, "I saw it too. That's how I guessed where you were." He shrugged.

Emma was not a tad bit surprised by this. That light was so bright that anyone could have seen it. "Anyway, I just saw it again. That's why I came here. There is something ethereal, unearthly about it that bothers me. I just don't know what to think of it." She felt relieved about finally spilling it out.

Julian was silent, as if he were processing the information.

"What do you think it is?" Emma was itching to ask this, since Julian was not saying anything, which was unusual for him.

"I have no idea," he said finally, "I've never seen anything like it before today. Maybe it was just a figure of our imagination?"

"Maybe," Emma thought about it, "but no. I know what I saw. Besides, we both saw it, which makes me even more sure that it's real. This unnerves me."

"Don't worry," Julian reached over and slung his arm around Emma, rubbing her bare shoulder in comfort, "hopefully we won't see it again. I can ask Ty about it if not. He probably knows something about it."

"Yeah leave it up to Mr. Smartypants. He has to know something after all those hours knocked up in the library. Doesn't he have a life outside of there?"

Julian laughed, "you should ask him. I'm sure he'd tell you."

"Lovely," Emma said. Tiberius didn't care for Emma that much, and the feeling was mutual. She just could not find any way to connect with the other Blackthorn. "Well, I think I'm going back to my place to sleep. Thanks for making me feel better Jules."

"Why don't you just spend the night with me since you're already here?" Jules offered before Emma could get up. A blush spread across her face, but she quickly brushed it off. She had spent countless nights over the past five years with Julian. They were practically brother and sister. Even more than that.

"Sure, why not," Emma shrugged, trying her best to sound indifferent. Julian pulled the covers back and slipped into his bed. Emma then lay down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder while his arm went around her protectively.

"I'm not scared you know," Emma said.

"I know," Julian said. Even in the darkness, Emma could feel his smile.

"Good night Jules."

"Sleep tight Em." And before she knew it, sleep had suddenly overtaken her.

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**Thank you so much for those of you who reviewed, favourited, and/or followed this story! That made my day :D**

**Sorry if it's still a little slow. I just wanted to make all the family introductions and all as much as I could. I promise that the story will build up later. Just be patient, for it is a virtue :)**

**How about another five more reviews reviews for the next chapter? ;)**


	3. Keiko's

**Chapter 3: Keiko's**

_The sun had begun to set and darkness fell down onto the beaches of Santa Monica. Emma was still in her black Shadowhunting gear and was walking along the beach, waiting for any demon to come up so she could kill it. Where Julian, Tina, and the others were, she had no idea. Bored, Emma sat down onto the soft ground and drove Cortana into the sand._

_ Suddenly, something sprang from the ocean. It was the same water demon that she had seen before. Except this time it was moving even faster and its tentacles were reaching out for her. Emma let out a scream and pulled out Cortana, holding it tightly in her grip. The demon was a mere few inches for her when she struck out at it, chopping at the tentacle. It did no good. Its tentacle grew right back. And this time no one was coming to her aid. _

_ Emma tried to make a run for it, but the demon wrapped its tentacles around her ankle and jerked her violently back. Pain shot through Emma's legs. Trying to move it was useless. This demon was too strong. And it was pulling her straight towards the darkness of the ocean. Her worst fear._

_ "Julian!" Emma screamed. "Tina! Livvy! Anyone. Help!" Still no one came._

_ The bright light shot up from the ocean, from the same spot as before. The creature pulled Emma into the water and headed straight towards the light. Miraculously, Emma could breathe under the water. But that was the least of her worries. She was surrounded by darkness except for the light that was beckoning them forward._

_ They had come closer to the light, and still Emma could not discern what it was. It just looked like a beam of solid light. Except now, something was forming. It was a humanoid hand, gesturing for them to come._

_ "_Come to me_," a voice, inhuman and unearthly, called out. It sounded like nails scratching against a chalkboard. The hand grabbed for her and – _

Emma let out a loud gasp and her eyes flew wide open. She was still in the comfort of Julian's bed, not under the terrifying depths of the water. _It was just a dream_, she told herself reassuringly.

Julian's arm was still around her, although it was tighter than before. Emma had not even realize that she was literally clinging to his shoulder. She looked up at his face to see his sea green eyes staring at her with concern and something else that she couldn't quite tell.

"Were you watching me sleep?" Emma tried to sound neutral, but it came out as rude.

"You seemed to be having a bad dream," said Julian. It was one of the things that she loved about her _parabatai_; he spoke straightforwardly and was always honest about everything, unlike her at times.

Emma shrugged, not wanting to talk about it. "How long were you awake?"

"Well, I was in deep sleep until you punched me on my shoulder just a few minutes ago," Julian said, a small smile on his face. Emma blushed. "You punch hard. That woke me up, and then you were moving around frantically. Must have been quite the nightmare."

"Sorry about that," Emma looked down, slightly embarrassed.

"Don't be," said Julian, placing his fingers underneath her chin and lifting her face up so they were looking directly at each other. "Besides, I think that's one of the few times I've actually heard you apologize for something. Mind you, you really didn't have to say sorry for that."

Emma chuckled. "Why not?"

"Because I'm going to get you back." Julian reached out and punched Emma's left shoulder.

"Hey!" Emma exclaimed, and then began laughing uncontrollably.

"You asked for it," Julian winked and then joined in on her laughter.

"Au contraire," Emma seized one of Julian's pillows and smacked him on his chest. He rolled backwards, while Emma's laughs became even harder and she had to put her hand on her stomach for it started to hurt. Julian got up and grabbed his other pillow and hit Emma back, laughing and pointing at her. It was just like how they used to play when they were little twelve- year-olds.

Emma raised the pillow, ready to strike again, when the door flew open and Cristina, dressed in a beautiful floor length red summer dress and her black hair in a neat bun, stood at the threshold. Tina's mouth opened, but then she closed it, her eyes moving from Emma, to the pillow, to Julian, and then back to Emma. Judgment was clear in Tina's eyes.

"I'm just not even going to ask," Tina said, her Mexican accent pronounced.

"Don't bother," Julian said, amusement laced in his voice, while he set the pillow he was holding back where it belonged.

Tina turned to Emma, "I've been looking all over for you. You weren't in your room, or the music room, or the weapons room. I figured you'd be here."  
"Couldn't sleep," Emma shrugged.

"Ah, I see," Tina said, something hidden behind her dark brown eyes, "anyway, I came to tell you to get ready. That applies to you too, Jules," she added, looking at Julian, who was still beside his bed.

"Why?" Julian asked, genuinely curious.

"Remember how I promised Tavvy and Ariadne that we would get ice cream? Well, the we meant all of us. Besides, it's nearly two and you both have been sleeping forever. You better get some food at least in your system."

Emma's stomach rumbled in agreement. She nodded her head approvingly.

"Why do we all have to go still?" Julian said, but Tina shot him a death glare. "On the other hand, give me a few minutes to get dressed," Julian added hastily.

"That's what I thought," Tina smiled, "the others are also getting ready. Meet us down in the foyer in fifteen minutes." With that, Tina shut Julian's door and left.

Emma put back the pillow where it belonged and turned to Julian. "Well, I should go and get ready." She made her way towards the door and reached for the knob, when Julian put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him. His dark brown hair fell across his forehead and half covered up his eyes. There were still residual runes left on his skin from the night before, curling up and around his neck.

"Em, if anything is bothering you, if there is anything that is wrong at all, please just come to me. Talk about it. Just let me know what you're feeling," he said gently.

Emma nodded at that, but did not say anything in response.

"I feel like you don't believe me. Promise me Emma. Please. It is my duty as your best friend and your _parabatai_ to make sure you're okay."

"Oh, alright," Emma agreed, "although, this is not entirely one-sided, and you know that Jules. I don't need all that protecting. You have to tell me if anything is troubling you too."

"Of course," he smiled at her. Without thinking, Emma reached up and kissed him on the cheek. Julian's face reddened, and before he could respond, Emma slipped out of his room and shut the door.

* * *

Emma reached her room and quickly shut the door. Julian had not opened his door once Emma had left; she had not expected him. Except, why should she feel embarrassed about what she just did? It was just a quick kiss. And on the cheek, nothing more than that. Besides, they were best friends and practically knew everything about each other. Emma shook her head to clear her thoughts, although she could still feel the pressure of his cheek against her soft lips.

She pulled out her drawer to change into something to wear. Nearly everything Emma owned was black in colour. Her favourite. Emma took off her jammies and pulled on a plain black t-shirt with short jean shirts. She took out her hair tie and unbraided her hair. She brushed down her long, blonde hair; it fell below her chest and curled at the tips. She never liked her hair. Why couldn't she look beautiful with the Blackthorn brown hair and blue-green eyes? Instead she was skinny, but muscular, with golden-blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Not to mention the long, jagged scar that ran up her right arm. She was not ashamed to hide it, though. She was a Shadowhunter after all.

Emma bent down on her knees to reach for a pair of black flip-flops under her bed. She slipped them on, then before grabbing leaving her room, she grabbed her phone. 2:14. One minute to get downstairs. She would have to hurry so Tina would not get mad at her. Not that her best friend really would.

Emma rushed down to the foyer to find that everyone was already there, waiting for her. Livvy and Tiberius were off to the side; Tibs looked very displeased, as if he would rather be spending his time in the library than going to get ice cream. Tina was talking to Drusilla, who had one hand on Tavvy and the other on Ariadne. Tina saw Emma walking and beamed at her. Julian was there too. Emma looked up at him and gave him a smile. He returned it, and Emma felt relieved, especially after what had just happened.

"Oh good, you're here," Tina said, breaking away from the group and walking towards Emma to greet her, "okay let's get going."

"Where are we going?" Livvy asked.

"You'll see," Tina said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

* * *

Tina, as it turned out, took them to a place called Keiko's, only a few blocks away from the Los Angeles Institute, right on the busy street of Westwood Boulevard. It reminded Emma of Taki's, where she had visited in New York City during the Mortal War. Similarly, Keiko's catered to Shadowhunters and Downworlders, although more of the latter. She always loved going there with her friends. The food always seemed to have some sort of satisfaction effect on her.

"Are you sure about this?" Drusilla asked, swallowing hard, concern spread her face.

"Why do you ask?" said Tina.

"Well, it _is_ Keiko's," Silla stated, as if that explained everything. It certainly did though. From the outside, Keiko's looked like a worn down beach shack. But inside, it was always buzzing with Downworld life. And that life could be somewhat… scandalous. Not really that appropriate for the littlest of the Blackthorn children, but they were going to grow up to be Shadowhunters after all.

"Oh grow up Silla," Livvy said, rolling her eyes, "we can't shelter them from everything in our world. Besides, they grew up during that awful Mortal War. What could be worse?" Livvy walked ahead and pushed the doors open, Tiberius right at her behind her. Tina shrugged and followed after them. Silla reluctantly went after them, holding both Tavvy and Ariadne's hands, leaving both Julian and Emma alone with each other. Julian stepped forward and opened the door.

"After you," he said, gesturing for Emma to go inside. Emma muttered her thanks to him and went inside, Julian at her heels allowing the door to close. The smells of grilled meat, spring earth, sweet blood, and metal enveloped Emma. She breathed it all in. Others may have hated this smell. She loved it. It reminded her of the world she lived in.

A faerie broke away from the bar and came up to them. She was tall and skinny, with green skin and a shock of red hair.

"Are you all together?" she asked. Emma noted that her teeth were abnormally pointy.

"Yes," Tina said.

"Follow me," said the faerie. Emma caught a quick glimpse of her nametag. Floura. She must had been new, for Emma had never seen her before. Floura reached for some menus in the side and led them away from the entrance.

Emma took the time to absorb the surroundings around her. Keiko's had been in Los Angeles for as long as she could remember. It had low ceilings and was constructed entirely of beech wood on in the inside, giving it a beach feeling. There were lights everywhere, but they were dim, giving the place a dark feeling. Off to the corner was the bar, where the bartender, Ken, who had at least ten arms, was serving both mundane and faerie drinks. Must have been convenient to make drinks. Everyone in here were Downworlders: fey, warlocks, ifrits, vampires, and werewolves. As they walked, Emma noticed a couple sitting by the booth. A boy who appeared to be half Asian and a girl with chocolate brown hair; they both seemed to be engrossed in a conversation. They did not appear to be Downworlders and must have been the odd ones out, like the Shadowhunters.

"Here you are," Floura gestured at a booth on the opposite corner of the restaurant. Tavvy, Ariadne, Silla, and Tina sat on one side, while Tiberius, Livvy, Julian, and Emma sat on the other side facing the entrance. Floura handed each of them a menu and walked away from them. Emma opened it up, although she was already completely familiar with it.

"They serve blood here?" Tavvy squeaked, his eyes growing wide open.

"Ewww and raw meat?" Ariadne added in, sticking out her tongue in disgust.

"Of course they do, sillies!" Silla said, laughing, "this place isn't only for Shadowhunters. All the Downworlders come here. The proper food is all in the back." Silla turned to help the younger ones out, while everyone else looked around at each other.

Emma let her mind wander when the front door opened and someone walked inside. Floura went up to greet the customer and pulled out a menu, leading the person forward. No not a person. He had black, curling hair and dark eyes. He was tall and very muscular, dressed in black pants and a black leather jacket, which did not fare very well in the Californian heat. She would have recognized him anywhere.

"Oh shit," Emma said aloud.

"Language," Julian scolded Emma, raising an eyebrow at her. Emma slapped her hand over her mouth. In the heat of the moment, she almost forgot the little ones were there.

"What is it?" Livvy and Tina asked at the same time, Livvy tearing away from her conversation with Tiberius.

"It's him," Emma said, staring at the guy. Livvy and Tina followed Emma's gaze.

"Oh God, it's him," Tina said in understanding.

"Quick, hide me," Emma said to no one in particular, trying to hide behind her menu.

"Ryder, over here!" Livvy shouted out. Emma gave Livvy a murderous glare. "You're welcome," Livvy said, smiling.

The guy, Ryder, heard Livvy and walked towards them.

"Have I met him before?" Julian asked in a low voice. Emma tried to keep her dating life separate from her Shadowhunting life. Which meant Julian not knowing. Sure, he was aware that Emma went out with a lot of guys. But he never really met any of them before. This business was more of the type that she discussed with girls like Tina and Livvy.

Before Emma could reply to Julian, Ryder came over to their table, Floura right behind him.

"Why don't you sit down?" Livvy said to Ryder.

"No thanks," Ryder said in his deep, husky voice. "I have to meet some of the members of my pack here soon."

Emma cleared her throat before saying, "Ryder, you know Tina and Livvy, but that's Drusilla, Octavian, Ariadne, Tiberius, and Julian." She said everyone's name from around the table. "Everyone, this is Ryder. He's a… werewolf." Emma looked away, not wanting to elaborate any further. They had dated once, but their relationship did not end so well. Emma tried her best to push the thought out of her mind. Julian looked at her, and she could tell that he instantly knew what was between her and Ryder.

Everyone said their hello to Ryder, and then resumed back to their own conversations.

"Listen, Emma," Ryder said. It was the first time they had spoken to each other in a year, "are you free this Friday?"

Emma paused, "umm, I – "

Livvy, who was listening, cut in, "of course she is! We really don't do anything in the Institute on Fridays." Emma shot her another murderous glare, and Livvy smiled sweetly back. This set Emma's temper even more, but she took a deep breath in to calm herself before looking back at Ryder.

"Great! It's a date," he beamed at Emma, "I'll come to the Institute at eight."

"Fabulous," Emma said, not thrilled at all. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Julian fuming.

* * *

**Oooh looks like Emma's got a date! And someone is not too happy about that ;) What will happen next? Well, I guess you all have to wait to find out haha.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I did not expect to get so many. They seriously made my day. You all get a virtual cookie for that :)**

**Who else is excited that the TMI movie release date got pushed forward? I hope they do that to all countries! It'll make all of us Shadowhunters even more excited :D**

**Don't forget to review, favourite, or follow! Until next time my lovelies!**


	4. Across the Setting Sun

**Chapter 4: Across the Setting Sun**

Julian sighed as he lifted his brush to complete another stroke. His hand accidentally slipped and great blotch of black spoiled the golden sand. Great. The beach was not supposed to have blackness in it. Well, at least not the sand he was painting. And worse, he was using oil paints, which were difficult to correct.

Julian was sitting atop the roof of the Institute. It was a lot higher than other roofs in Los Angeles, since the Institute had a multitude of stories to it. It was in a perfect location for Julian's artistic side. It had the best view of the Pacific Ocean in the city, which meant that Julian could paint the beauty of the ocean at his leisure whenever he wanted.

Except now his painting was ruined.

He was attempting to paint a sunset. Everything was turning out well; he was almost done with it. Until he had to mess it up with his mistake. He was having difficulty concentrating this time around. Usually painting was his refuge in times like this, when he felt conflicted or angered. It was his way of venting his anger… his anger towards Emma.

Sure Julian got angry at Emma, basically all the time. She was infuriating most of the time, too impulsive, and above all never listened to anyone, especially him. But, it was everything that Julian loved about his _parabatai_. Everyone had their faults. Okay, maybe Emma's were more pronounced than others, but not everyone is perfect. It was why he loved Emma, but not in a romantic way. Or so he thought his relationship was not romantic. He knew that falling in love with Emma would be completely forbidden by the Law.

Julian could never understand why Emma kept her dating history a secret from him. They were _parabatai_ after all, and something as petty as who dated who should not come between them. Julian was fully aware that Emma had plenty of boyfriends in her past, but never really knew_ who_ she went out with. And Julian, unlike his Emma, was not really into dating. Girls often did crush on him and act all coy around him, but he was never really into finding a relationship. That was one of the many differences between him and Emma. Although, rumours circulated around both the Shadow World and Downworld that Emma was a heartbreaker. She would be with a guy one day, and then rip his heart and move onto another guy. Julian just accepted that was how Emma was, with her impulsive behavior.

Julian often had to ground Emma, to make sure she did not get too carried away in what she did. In fact, he had to ground his whole family. Ever since that incident, Julian felt it what his responsibility to take care of his younger siblings and everyone else in the Institute. And it was a responsibility indeed.

He hated thinking of this memory. It evoked so much pain that not only he felt, but was also a burden to his family. It was his stupidity and foolishness that caused his mother's death and led to his trial by the Mortal Sword at a mere twelve years of age. Julian had lost his mother, and Arthur Blackthorn had to marry a third time. Because of that, he felt that he owed something to his father and his younger siblings. And so he vowed to take raise them and protect them from harm's way, especially after the events of the Mortal War.

However, it was not all bad things that resulted from the war. There were also good things that came from it. It had brought Julian closer to his family. He thought that his father would hate him for getting his mother killed, but Arthur Blackthorn was as understanding as ever and would never dislike his son. Julian also became closer to all of his siblings, who he took for granted. And best of all, it allowed him to bond with Emma. He had known Emma practically since he was five, for the Carstairs were close friends with the Blackthorns, their friendship stretching back to their ancestors.

Julian bit his fingernails nervously as he tried to decide how to fix up his mess-up on his painting. He dabbed his brush in some yellow paint and tried to cover up the black with it to make it look like a sunset reflected on the water. Instead, it turned out to be more like a bee basking on the beach. Julian ran his fingers through his hair, unknowingly spreading some paint into his messy dark brown curls. As he tried to concentrate, he let his mind wander again.

Julian had eaten his lunch the rest of his lunch in awkward silence beside Emma. Things rarely got awkward between the two of them, and this really irked Julian. They were supposed to be close friends with no secrets between them. It was becoming apparent now that this was not true. There was also something that was very unsettling about Ryder. Julian could not quite put his finger on what it was.

The walk back to the Institute was also painfully quiet. Livvy and Silla, who could talk endlessly for hours, had nothing to say to the group. Tiredness from hunting the night before was evident in Livvy. She definitely needed some rest before they all went out again, as planned for later in the night. Speaking of which, their hunting session was due to happen fairly soon. The sun was almost done setting and nightfall and begun to descend across the ocean. Julian still had to finish his painting, but it was starting to be too late for that, since the sun was no longer reflected on the water. He turned to focus on the landscape, determined to complete the painting.

"You got paint in your hair Jules. Again." Julian turned around, startled. Emma stood at the threshold, already in her Shadowhunting gear. She was wearing what she usually hunted in: tight black pants with a fitting black shirt, that accentuated her toned muscles and revealed her pale bare arms, which were not yet covered in runes. Her normally long, blonde hair was braided back, as she often preferred when they went out. The falling sun profiled her figure more and casted dark red and orange hues dancing across her face. Her dark blue eyes, as always, stood out. She looked beautiful.

Not that she didn't look beautiful before. Julian had known Emma for nearly his entire life, but never really paid much attention to her. He always saw her as a tall, skinny blonde girl who never listened to what she was told, but nothing more than that. Now that they had gotten older, Julian was starting to notice things about her that he hadn't before. Like how her mouth slightly frowned when she was in deep concentration. Or how her eyes squinted when she was annoyed. Which she happened to be doing right now.

"Earth to Julian," Emma said, her eyebrows raised in irritation. She had obviously been saying something to him before his thoughts drifted.

"Huh?" Julian said. _That sounded really smart Jules_, he scolded himself.

"I was just saying that I discovered Livvy and Tibs sleeping together," she said, amusement sparkling in her eyes.

"THEY'RE WHAT?" Julian shouted, trying to get the horrid image out of his mind. He could have sworn that the entire Los Angeles could have heard his yell.

"That seemed to get your attention." Emma smirked. "I was saying that you should probably get ready soon. Jaime just called to say that he's coming in an hour or so. He said he texted you but you never replied."

Julian reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out his phone. Sure enough, Jaime had texted him. He put away his phone, trying to hide his expression from Emma. She had beaten him to it.

"And I'm guessing that you never checked your phone because you were too busy," Emma said, peering over Julian's shoulder at his oil painting. She walked over to it and stood beside Julian, examining his work of art. "That looks like a squashed bee," she laughed, pointing at Julian's black and yellow paint blob.

Julian rolled his eyes. "It was fine before that," he said simply, not wanting to explain that he got distracted… thinking of her. Emma stared at Julian long and hard, trying to read his emotions, which he was trying to hide.

"Is everything alright?" the impulsive Emma was stripped away by the concerned Emma.

"Everything is just fine," Julian said, avoiding looking at her and instead peered down at his fingernails, which were half-bitten.

"This is about Ryder and I, isn't it?"

Julian shrugged, not wanting to answer the question. Emma could tell this though.

"Listen, if it makes you feel any better, I really have any feelings for him. Besides, it was Livvy who practically forced the date on us."

"Well, you could have said no to him," Julian said aloud before he could stop himself.

Emma looked taken aback, her eyes widening in surprise. "Jules, does me going out with Ryder really bother you that much?" she asked, hurt evident in her voice.

"It's not only Ryder," Julian said honestly, "it's everyone else that you've dated." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Clearly she had not anticipated Julian to say that.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm tired of you always dating guys behind my back Em. We're _parabatai_. We shouldn't have to keep this kind of stuff from each other. Look, I know that you have always gone out with different guys, but you've never introduced me to any of them. Livvy and Tina seem to know them, so obviously you've been telling someone about this. I just don't want us to keep secrets from each other. And you know me. I rarely open up to people. But the one person I do open up to is you."

Emma opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it. Then, she unexpectedly took a step forward towards Julian and wrapped her arms around him. Julian was surprised by this… this was definitely not the response he had expected, but he wasn't complaining. He protectively returned her embrace, pulling her closer to him.

Emma finally drew back and smiled up at Julian. "Thanks for being honest with me, Jules."

"Wait, so you're not mad at me?" Julian asked.

Emma laughed. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"Well, I practically bitched you out," Julian said, trying not to blush.

"I could never be mad at you," she said, "and besides, you're right. I am your _parabatai_ and I should be more honest with you. I'm sorry about hiding all that from you. It was childish and stupid of me. I guess I was just a little embarrassed to reveal that to you. Livvy and Tina are girls after all, that's why I told them about this. But I promise Jules, I won't keep anything from you anymore."

Julian looked at her long and hard. "Could you do one thing for me?"

"Anything," Emma said, slightly confused again.

"Stand over there, against the railing." Julian pointed at the rail that faced the ocean and Emma did as she was told, casually leaning against it and propping her arm up on the stone to support her. She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what Julian was doing.

Julian returned to his painting, brush ready in hand. "Just stay like that," Julian instructed her. Emma's eyes widened in understanding and she did not move an inch.

"Jules are you doing what I think you're about to do?" Julian just smiled at her and began to paint her onto his painting. Slowly and carefully, Julian dabbed the brush into some yellow paint and resumed his work. He blended in some blacks, as well as blues and oranges and reds. His mistake ended up not being a hindrance to his art; he just painted right over it. He kept his eyes trained on Emma, only looking away when necessary. Time and everything around Julian disappeared and all he could see was the ocean, the sunset, and Emma. Just Emma.

After what seemed like hours, he set his brush down. Emma sensed this and walked over to take a look at Julian's artwork. He always painted things he loved. In this case, the painting summarized everything: the Pacific Ocean, the golden beach, the glittering sunset, and his _parabatai_.

"Wow Jules, this looks amazing," said Emma in awe, "but why did you have to spoil it with my ugly face?"

"You're not ugly," Julian said in a low voice, mainly to himself.

"What was that?" Emma said.

"I said you're not ugly," Julian said louder and with full honesty, not wanting to make anything up. A blush spread across her high cheekbones and before Emma could reply, Julian fumbled for his phone and looked at the time. Ten minutes until Jaime would arrive. "I should get ready. Jaime is coming soon." Emma nodded in agreement and pulled her braid over her shoulder, fumbling with the ends of her hair.

"I'll meet you downstairs with the others," Emma said and walked away before Julian could say anything back.

* * *

**Sorry for making everybody wait on this! It's just that I had a terrible case of writer's block and just couldn't decide what to put in this chapter. But no worries, one of my friends helped cure it :) Oh and I should apologize if this isn't the best chapter. I just needed to get some more _parabatai_ bonding and all that jazz into this story.**

**Thank you again for all your support! You guys are awesome :D**

**Also, one last thing. Okay two things. First, I'll be writing an Infernal Devices fic about an AU Romeo and Juliet. I'll probably post it next weekend... it depends on my schedule. Second, one of my friends, PrimadonnaGurl13, and I are writing an Infernal Devices and Doctor Who crossover fic. Go check it out if you guys like those both! It's on her profile.**

**Anyways, more good stuff to come in the next chapter. And I promise it'll be up faster! **

**Don't forget to review!**


	5. Black Blood

**Chapter 5: Black Blood**

Emma stood at the back entrance, alongside Livvy and Tina. Her arms were bare and unmarked; she was waiting for Julian to apply the runes on her, as they always did. She checked her watch. They still had five minutes until Jaime would come, but Julian was still not there, which was beginning to make Emma tense up.

"He'll come," Tina said, trying to calm Emma down. Tina could read Emma pretty well, although not as well as Julian could. Still, Tina could sense the tension within Emma, and gave Emma a rub on the shoulders.

Emma sighed and continued looking down the corridor. She was hoping that Julian was not mad at her. From what she got from talking to him on the rooftop, he did not seem mad at her. But Julian was excellent at hiding his emotion. However, the only person he did truly open up to was Emma. Emma felt guilty about hiding her dating history from Julian. She had told him the truth though; she was not sure if he would understand all this girly stuff. Although, she should have been more sensitive and thought about his feelings.

Typical Emma Carstairs. Always rushing into situations without thinking of what would happen to others, especially those she loved. She could automatically tell that Julian disliked Ryder. As much as Emma wanted to blame Livvy into pressuring her into the date, Emma could not deny that she wanted it. She would have said no or shown some lack of interest if she did not want to go out with Ryder. But something inside of her was telling her to and to give him a second chance. Besides, how would her feelings matter to Julian? He was her _parabatai_, and falling in love, and even worse dating was strictly forbidden by the Law.

"Hey!" Livvy whispered loudly and Emma looked up. Julian was walking down the hallway at a fast pace, all decked out in Shadowhunting gear. He too, like Emma, was unmarked. He smiled at the girls, his gaze lingering on Emma for a little longer.

Julian approached Emma and she held out here stele for him. "Ink me," she instructed, putting her arms out forward. Julian obeyed and began tracing the runes on her skin using her stele. Soundless. Night-Vision. Fearless. Clairvoyance. Mendelin. All the other runes necessary for hunting.

Within no time, he was done and with the marks. He handed her stele back and she slipped it into her weapons belt. "Now do me," he said, not unkindly, giving her his stele.

Emma quietly traced the same runes on Julian's arms, focusing all her energy and concentration on that. She tried to avoid his face, which she could feel the weight of his eyes staring down at her. When she was done, she drew back to see another figure approaching them from down the corridor. "Guys, wait for me!" It was Tiberius, dressed in gear and already covered in marks, which was unusual for him. He carried a small burlap sack with him.

"Ty?" Julian looked up, giving a puzzled look to his lower brother.

Tiberius approached them, slightly out of breath. "I was examining demonic activities in the area, and I found a place with very high readings. I decided that it would be best if I came along with the rest of you."

"Of course you can!" Livvy exclaimed before Julian could object. Livvy absolutely hated it whenever anyone tried to play down her twin. Tiberius beamed at her, clearly excited that he could come along.

"And perfect timing," Julian said grimly. Julian was overprotective of Tiberius as any sibling would be over a younger one. And since Tiberius wasn't the best fighter, Emma could tell that Julian did not want Tiberius there.

Cristina's phone buzzed and she looked at it. "Looks like Jaime is here," she announced, walking towards the door and opening it quietly. Everyone followed her, their Soundless runes in effect so the Blackthorn parents could not hear them. Sure enough, Jaime was waiting by the curb in his van, the gentle hum of the radio in the background.

"Hey everyone," Jaime greeted the group as everyone piled into the van, Tina taking shotgun. Jaime raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Tiberius.

"Tibs is coming with us because he found a place with high demonic activity and wants to take us there," Livvy said, responding to Jaime's unanswered question. Jaime nodded and turned the ignition on, as the van began to warm up.

"So where is this place?" he asked Tiberius.

"Yeah Ty, where are we going?" Julian said, backing up Jaime.

Tiberius looked up to see five pairs of eyes staring back at him, waiting for him to speak. "You may not like the sound of this," Tiberius began, clearing his throat.

"Why? Where Tibs?" Emma asked, who was eager to go hunting in a place of danger.

"Hollywood."

Hollywood was a mundane infatuation, as Shadowhunters and Downworlders both saw it. All the glitz and the glamour, those were just little things to distract humans from real life problem. They found it a safe haven that allowed them to be oblivious to other distractions. What mundanes did not know was that this special place was infested with demons.

Demons found that since Hollywood was so filled with humans that the mundane stench would cover them up. Shadowhunters and the like were least likely to go there. But then again, most demons were dim-witted fools, as Emma saw it, as opposed to Greater Demons. She thought Tiberius must have been crazy taking them there, as there were _always_ demons in Hollywood. And that was not an exaggeration.

"Why Hollywood?" Emma asked Tiberius, trying to keep the exasperation out of her voice. Jaime had already started driving towards the general direction of where they were headed.

"Because my readings showed me that there are high traces of demonic activity," Tiberius said, not for the first time.

"I meant," Emma said in annoyance, "why are we going to a place that we already know has a shitload of more demons than other areas. It's the norm." Livvy shot her a poisonous look. She hated anyone who tried to downplay her brother.

"It is higher than the usual. I want to know what is going on to cause such disturbances," Tiberius said, who appeared slightly hurt. Livvy gave him a rub on his back.

Emma sighed and rolled down the window, looking out. They drove past blocks filled with stores and big warehouses. Even though it was close to a half past nine, the neon lights were already on and were blaring signs beckoning customers to come in. Palm trees lined nearly every block and gave it a feel that was very Los Angeles. Emma stuck her head out the window and allowed the wind to wash across her face. She took a deep breath in and filled her lungs with the smells of the city: smoke, dust, and a certain salty freshness from the ocean.

Jaime pulled the car into an abandoned parking lot and rolled it to a stop. Everyone jumped out of the car and grouped together.

"So what's the plan?" Julian said, leaning against the van. He turned to Tiberius, waiting for an answer. Normally Julian came out with the game plan, with the exception of Emma going out of the way. This time, things were different.

"The main areas of interest to me were on Hollywood, Sunset, and Santa Monica Boulevards," Tiberius said, "I was thinking that we should split up into pairs and each investigate. I also brought Sensors to help guide us to the areas." He indicated to the sack that he was carrying earlier.

"Well I'm definitely going to you," Livvy said with finality in her tone as she went to stand next to Tiberius. He gave her a shy smile. "And anyways, it's kind of set in stone that Emma and Julian should go together, being _parabatai_ and all. There is nothing going between you both, right?" Livvy added, giving them a dubious look.

"No, nothing at all," Emma said quickly, a blush spreading quickly across her face. _Damn it_, she scolded herself. Julian turned away before she could see his expression.

"Well, I guess that leaves you and me," Jaime said to Tina, and she smiled at him. They both got along extremely well, even if they were just cousins. "We'll take Santa Monica," Jaime said, anchoring his cross bow. He almost always hunted with that.

"Here, have this," Tiberius reached into his sack and pulled out a Sensor, handing it to Tina. With a nod, she and Jaime walked away from the rest of the group. When they were out of sight, Tiberius turned to Emma and Julian, "where do you two want to go?"

"Um, we can cover Sunset Boulevard," Julian shrugged. Emma squealed on the inside; she absolutely loved that it there. Tiberius nodded and gave them a Sensor, which Emma took and pocketed it.

She and Julian had to walk a few blocks to get there. For a Tuesday night, the place was full of life. Then again it was Los Angeles. And more specifically Hollywood. It was buzzing with life at any time. Emma saw all sorts of people. Not movie stars exactly, but just mundanes. Luckily they could not see Emma nor Julian, otherwise the pair would be getting confused looks from anyone passing by.

"Thank God for glamours," Emma told Julian in a low voice, laughing almost nervously. Nervous? Since when did she ever get nervous around Julian?

"Yeah tell me about it," Julian said, although he sounded as if his heart was not fully into it.

"What's wrong Jules?" Emma tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but he moved away. She knew immediately what he was thinking. Emma sighed before saying "look, I know you're upset that Tibs is coming along. But he can prove to be valuable at times like this. And I understand, after what happened with your mother, you want to protect your siblings." Emma, of course, was fully aware what had happened to Julian's mother. She was there when he was tried by the Mortal Sword, and she tried to push that memory out as much as she could. "But protecting them doesn't mean completely barricading them from what is out there. They need to know how to fight and be in the real world. And we're not going to let this curfew completely dictate what we Shadowhunters do. Both of us will prove this to the world. Right Jules?"

Instead of saying anything back, Julian reached for Emma's hand and pulled her closer, intertwining their fingers. Emma smiled up at him and returned it. He was truly beautiful when we smiled. It made his angular face look wider and made his blue-green eyes even deeper.

"Say, shouldn't we be hunting?" Julian smirked.

"Oh right," Emma fumbled through her pockets with her free hand and pulled out the Sensor. It was pulsing weakly. "Hmmm, maybe we should turn around. We're probably heading in the wrong direction, judging by what it's trying to tell us." Sure enough, when they walked the opposite way the Sensor was beating more violently.

"Always the genius, Em," Julian laughed. Emma stuck out her tongue at him.

Suddenly, they heard a crash and then a bloodcurdling shriek coming from where they just came from. Before thinking, Emma pulled away from Julian's grip and ran towards the sound. The screaming was loud enough so it was easy for Emma to follow. On top of that, she could hear Julian calling out for her. He was fast, but Emma was even faster. Reaching into her weapons belt, Emma pulled out a seraph blade. "_Nuriel_, " she muttered under her breath, and the blade shone with soft light.

The screaming continued, leading Emma towards an alleyway behind an old warehouse. What Emma saw made her jaw drop.

"Emma, why don't you ever listen?" Julian yelled, though he was still quite a distance away. "You always rush into things without thinking. Why can't you –" He stopped abruptly in his tracks, right next to Emma. He registered the shock in her expression and she could see that he felt the same when he laid his eyes upon what was in front of them.

There was a big black blob – no a creature right in front of it. It looked like a leech, although much larger, almost the size of a bus. It was sliding over something with it's massive body, leaving a dark, slimy trail in its wake. It sensed Julian and Emma and looked up at them with beady black eyes, which nearly blended in with its body.

Emma reached for her witchlight and raised it up. The creature flinched back, as if the light pained it. Julian took advantage of its distraction and threw his armed seraph blade at it. The blade hit the creature cleaning on its back, but did no damage whatsoever. Emma followed suit and threw Nuriel at the creature, but it had no effect on it.

"It makes sense," Emma said, her eyes widening.

"What?" Julian asked, alarm in his voice as the creature began to slide towards them.

"Angelic and runed weapons won't do us any good," Emma said, and Julian understood without her having to elaborate. Julian moved his witchlight closer to the thing, making it shrink back again. Emma took the opportunity to drive Cortana through the creature, which howled in pain. Julian brought the witchlight stone closer to it's eyes, as Emma repeatedly stabbed the creature. With his free hand, Julian attacked it with his dagger. Eventually, the leech began to wither in size until there was nothing. When it was gone, Emma and Julian looked at each other, satisfaction in both of their expressions.

"Well, that was weird," Emma said. Julian could only agree. Emma turned away to go back to their hunting, but Julian caught her by the arm.

"Em, look," he pointed at the back end of the alley. Emma nearly forgot why they had come there in the first place. Laying on the hard concrete ground was a person. That must have been the yell that Emma had heard earlier, causing her to come here. She and Julian approached the figure to see it's pale face. It was a man. No, a vampire; the fangs gave it away. There was a ring of indentations on his neck that were bleeding fast. All across his venom was a dark venom that nearly blended in with the surroundings.

"Is he dead?" Emma asked Julian quietly. The vampire made a wheezing noise, his eyes flying open. They were cloudy with the coulours of death.

"Beware Nephilim!" he said in a choked voice. "Those that you thought you could trust may not be trustworthy. What you know may not be there. Be careful Nephilim. She is rising!"

"Who?" Julian yelled, grabbing the vampire by his shoulders and shaking him, "who is rising?"

"She is rising!" the vampire shouted out once more before going slack in Julian's arms. Julian gently dropped the vampire down to the ground and closed his eyes shut. Julian then reached into his weapons belt and pulled out small glass vial. He then scooped it down and collected the black venom, being careful not to touch any. Emma gave him a questioning look.

"For Ty," Julian told her, "we should tell him about this and give him this sample of venom. He would be interested in this. Besides, he's bound to know something about this. He can give us some insight."

Tiberius, much to Julian and Emma's disappointment, did not know anything about what they had just encountered.

"So you're saying that this giant leech killed a vampire and tried to attack you and Emma?" Livvy asked Julian in disbelief.

"Yes, that is exactly what happened. How many times do I have to tell you?" Julian said sounding annoyed. Livvy rolled her eyes. He had already told Jaime and Tina, since they were at the van first. He then had to repeat it a few times to Livvy and Tiberius, Livvy more who seemed hard to convince.

"This is very strange," Tiberius said, shaking his head, "this is very strange indeed. And who is rising?"

"The vampire said she is rising. Except we don't know who the she is. So you've never heard of anything like this before?" Emma asked, worry crossing her voice.

"Nothing at all, but I can look into it." Leave it to Tibs to do the research.

"We also collected this," Julian added, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the vial with the black venom. Tiberius reached for it and held it closely to his face, squinting his eyes to discern what it may be.

"I'll look into it," said Tiberius with a hint of excitement. It gave him something to do, and Tiberius did love to investigate any matter at hand.

Emma glanced down at her watch. It was nearly eleven. "We should get back to the Institute before anyone notices that we're missing," she told the others. They all reluctantly agreed before getting back into the van. Jaime started up the car and began the drive away from Hollywood and back to the Institute.

The ride back was in complete silence. No one had said a word to each other. Whether it was from exhaustion from hunting or worry for what happened to Emma and Julian, Emma could not tell. The others had had normal experiences when hunting. Well counting a nest of Drevak demons and destroying it is not so normal, but better than the leech creature. That was why Tiberius had said the readings were unusually high. And together with Livvy, Tina, and Jaime, the four of them were able to eradicate the nest and kill all the residual demons. Emma could not help but be impressed by this feat.

Jaime reached the Institute a lot faster than it took to get to their destination. They all got out of the car and collected their weapons.

"Let me know if you need any help with this investigation," Jaime said. Like Tiberius, Jaime liked delving into any case. They all nodded, weary from exhaustion, and he drove quietly away, being careful not to wake anyone up.

Julian took the lead and opened the back door with the silver key. When everyone was inside the Institute, he shut the door, which thankfully did not make a sound. This time around, Silla, Tavvy, and Ariadne were not there. Emma breathed a sigh of relief; at least there would not be as much noise as the last time when the little ones were there.

They walked down the corridor towards the stairs, ensuring not to track mud and demon bits on the floor. Before they could set foot on the stairs, a shadow loomed over them.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" They looked up to see a man peering down at them. A man no other than Arthur Blackthorn.

* * *

**DUN, DUN, DUN! Uh oh. What's going to happen here? Well you have to wait for the next chapter ;)**

**Oh and for those of you who saw the last Cassandra Jean tarot card on Cassie's Tumblr, it was revealed that Jaime is a Rosales, but he and Cristina are not siblings. I'm just assuming that they are cousins, for the sake of this story. I also changed this in the first chapter to keep everything consistent. Just thought you all should know haha. **

**Thanks for the reviews again! Keep them coming - the more you guys review, the more motivated I'll be to update. So review!**


	6. The Exclave

**Chapter 6: The Exclave**

"You have no idea how angry I am at all of you," said Arthur Blackthorn in a stern voice. They were all in the library - Arthur, his wife, Rhea, Julian, Tiberius, Livvy, Emma, and Cristina – seated around the long, wooden table. After he had caught them, Arthur marched them straight to the library and ordered them to stay there. He disappeared, and then came back within ten minutes with Rhea Blackthorn, who was not biologically related to Julian and the rest.

"And now, I have to call the Exclave," Arthur continued, "you are an embarrassment to the Shadowhunting community." The Exclave was the Los Angeles group of Shadowhunters, much like how London had the Enclave and New York City had the Conclave. However, the Exclave was much smaller than its counterparts and had very few members in it.

"Your father and I are very disappointed in you all," Rhea reiterated. She was a lot younger than Arthur and was tall with fair, blonde hair that went past her shoulder. Julian liked her, but distanced himself from her for he did not want to hurt her like he did to his own mother. She was his third wife after all.

"What were you even thinking?" Arthur was nearly shouting at this point while addressing Julian. Of course he would put the blame on Julian. Julian could not help but feel a tiny bit guilty, since he was the presumed leader of the group. "You know it is strictly against the Law to go out at night. And going hunting in the dead of night. That is just unthinkable."

"We couldn't just stay in here locked up forever!" Emma exclaimed, standing up and staring cold and hard at Arthur with her dark blue eyes. Julian smiled at her admiringly, proud at what she was doing. For once her rash and irrational behavior was proving to be of worth. "It is our duty as Shadowhunters to protect the world of demons. But that's not what we've been doing, isn't it? Instead, you and all the other head guys just keep us locked up in these Institutes and forcing us to train without use of our skills. And what's the point of that? How are we supposed to be defending our world? And for your information, we've eradicated tons of demons when we hunt, which proves to show that you and the Exclave have done a sure rotten job at what you're supposed to be doing."

"What was that, Emma Carstairs?" Emma turned around in alarm to see Matthew Branwell standing at the threshold. He was one of the top members of the Exclave and had always wanted Arthur Blackthorn's position as head of the Exclave. All the rest of the Blackthorns were still recovering from their shock at Emma's speech when Matthew Branwell walked in.

"Nothing," Emma swallowed hard and immediately sat down, staring down at the table as if it would come to life. Her cheeks were beginning to redden in embarrassment from what she had said. Julian reached out his hand from under the table and sought Emma's hand and squeezed it, intertwining their fingers. Even if she was not looking at him, Emma could see a faint smile starting to appear, making Julian relax more.

"That's what I thought," Matthew nodded and stormed in, followed by ten or so other Shadowhunters, both men and women of varying ages. They sat in the empty spots of the table, filling it completely. "You better have a good reason for calling us in the middle of the night, Arthur," said Matthew, not looking entirely pleased.

"Certainly," said Arthur, not appearing to be bothered by the other Exclave members. "It has come to my attention that my children, as well as Emma Carstairs and Cristina Mendoza Rosales have been hunting at night past curfew. From what I could gather from them, this has been going on for a while." Gasps ran through all the older people at the table. "As you all should know, that is strictly against the Law. I have gathered you to discuss what we should do to prevent this mishap from occurring again."

Murmers erupted in the crowd as everyone discussed what should happen. The murmurs grew into shouts, as the Shadowhunters began yelling at each other. Julian quickly tuned them out. Besides, he really did not want to be involved in this conversation, but he knew it was his duty to be there. Someone had to represent them, and everyone else was too young. With the exception of Emma and Tina of course. Tina was normally shy in front of large groups, whereas Emma was too hot-headed and the meeting would have been a mess if she was solely speaking for their group.

Emma clenched Julian's hand and he looked up at her. "Are you doing alright?" she asked and her eyes met him and he felt his stomach do a pathetic flip. When did he ever feel this way around his _parabatai_? Julian quickly brushed the thought from his mind before shrugging. "Come on, you can tell me Jules," she encouraged, gently shaking his hand to usher a response.

"We should pay attention to what they're saying," Julian said partially to distract himself, turning away from Emma and trying the engage back into the conversation around him.

"This is outrageous!" shouted an elderly lady. Frances Ravenscar, as Julian vaguely recalled. "These children should be punished for completely going against the Law." Julian cringed on the inside… of course Ravenscar would not side with them. She was an older Shadowhunter rooted on the old ideals of the Law. However, the rest of the group made noises of agreement, proving Julian wrong. Where were the strong and courageous Shadowhunters from the Mortal War? Julian often wondered this.

"I agree," said Matthew Branwell, slowly nodding his head while standing up. His red hair appeared even wilder in the faint candlelight in the library, "although they are not the only ones to be blamed." He turned to Arthur Blackthorn, his expression unreadable, "you, good sir, are saying that these children snuck out every night to go kill demons. Well, aren't you the head of the Institute? Aren't these children supposed to be under your care?" Arthur's face began to pale in realization, but Matthew was not finished, "and you should have been well aware of what are happening. I would not only blame your children, but you too. The children are half of the problem; you are the rest." With that, Matthew sat back down and everyone was still in silent agreement.

"What are you saying, Matthew?" Arthur asked, regaining from his shock, although his voice was slightly shaking. Julian could detect that, though he wasn't sure if everyone else could.

"I am not sure if this Institute is in good hands," Matthew said calmly, holding eye contact with Arthur.

"Are you questioning my authority?"

"Indeed I am. The fact that your children were able to sneak out every single day proves of your lack of control over that. Not only that, but also it shows that you are careless and unaware of what happens under this roof. I wonder if we should have someone else preside over this Institute."

"That's not fair!" Julian yelled before he could stop himself. Gasps ran across the table and everyone trained their eyes on Julian.

"What was that?" Matthew turned to him, giving him a deadly look.

Julian stood up straight and rounded his posture, trying to appear to be as confident as he could be. "I am saying that you have no right to replace my father. Besides, only the Consul has that power, and you are not that. My father is not to blame. You should be blaming me instead. I am the one that encouraged everyone to follow my lead and try to avoid my parents so we could go hunting. I should have never gone behind my parents' back because I should have anticipated the consequences." Julia sat down, looking around at everyone at the table and keeping an assertive expression for once. He just had to defend his father, as it was his duty to protect the family. He had already let his father down and wasn't going to worsen the situation at hand.

"Maybe you should listen to the boy," Tobias Whitelaw was the first to speak, "I believe that we should take the matter to Idris and see what the Consul and the Council can do from there."

"Very well," Matthew sighed in resignation, "all those in favour of this say aye." Unsurprisingly, everyone said aye. The Exclave, despite practically shouting at each other in meetings, ended up agreeing with each other. "So Arthur and Rhea Blackthorn will go to trial in Idris to see what his fate will be with being the head here in Los Angeles."

"What about the children?" asked Frances Ravenscar. It was true. Without their parents, Julian and his family would be alone in the Institute with no guardians, which was also against the Law.

"Don't you have another son in Idris?" Matthew asked Arthur.

"Mark," said Arthur automatically. "I could request him to come home from his studies. And he is of age."

"But is he trustworthy?" Whitelaw asked.

"What are you saying Tobias?" said Arthur, "of course my son is trustworthy."

"Just checking," Whitelaw said, eyeing the other children.

"So it's settled, we shall bring Mark Blackthorn over from Idris to act as a temporary guardian of the Institute for the time being. And we trust that he will not betray the trust of this duty he is given," announced Matthew Branwell. Julian was relieved by this decision. He hadn't seen his brother in months and despite how serious Mark is, hopefully he would be more lenient with his siblings. "As for the children, they are only to be kept confined in the Institute and are absolutely forbidden to go out at night. They can leave in daylight, but no weapons will be involved." We trust that Mark will exercise this power correctly and keep a close watch on them." All the other Exclave members nodded in unison, agreeing with Matthew.

Matthew rose from his seat and all the others followed him. He made his way out of the library, but before leaving, he turned around to see Arthur. "We will come to you first thing tomorrow morning. You better be ready." And with that, he left the library.

* * *

"How could we have been so stupid!?" Emma exclaimed. They had all made their way back to Julian's room and were arranged in somewhat of a circle. After Matthew Branwell left, the other Exclave members followed him out. Arthur Blackthorn soon left without a word, leaving Emma with the Blackthorns and Tina, and they had somehow ended up in Julian's room.

"You have a point," said Tiberius, who was standing in the far corner of the room away from everyone else, "you were all stupid."

"Oh shut up Ty," Julian said irritated and Livvy shot him a death glare from the bed where she was sprawled on, "you agreed to join us. And you never stopped us before."

"More like I was indifferent to this matter," said Tibs matter-of-factly, "and just this once I tried it. May I inform you that this was one of the worst occasions of my life and never again will I join you guys. I would rather stay at home than go hunting again."

"Suit yourself," Julian turned away from his brother to look at the others, "at least I'm glad that Mark is coming in to watch over us. Hopefully he'll understand. Although, he had no idea about what we were up to."

"But Mark is so boring," Livvy sighed, "we won't have any fun when he's here. He's way too serious."

"Forget about Mark," Emma said, "I'm more worried about missing my date. It's in three days and I highly doubt that I'll be able to get out of here with this ridiculous new curfew." Julian looked away from Emma quickly, and Emma felt somewhat guilty about bringing this up.

"I thought you didn't want to go out," Livvy said, suddenly sitting up and throwing a wink at Emma, who rolled her eyes.

"Yeah well that was in the heat of the moment. Besides, I sorta want to go on this date. I feel bad for abandoning him anyway."

"Says the girl that literally dumped Ryder." Emma shot Livvy a poisonous glare.

"Don't worry Em," said Julian. Emma could tell the he was trying his best to accept this date, even at his own expense. "Mark will probably let you go, since you won't be needing weapons are anything."

"Are you sure?" she asked him.

"Positive. I can talk Mark into allowing this. We'll figure something out." He smiled at Emma, and she returned his smile. Though, she still felt guilty about making him do this.

"Do you think it's still a good idea to go hunting?" Livvy asked.

"Are you kidding me Livvy?" said Julian, sounding exasperated, "there's no way we can risk ourselves getting caught again. We're going to be under tight surveillance after what happened tonight and I don't want Dad getting into any more trouble. I already feel guilty that he has to go to Alicante for trial." Julian shuddered and Emma immediately knew that he was thinking of the time he was tried under the Mortal Sword.

"Jaime sure is lucky," said Livvy wistfully, "at least he got away with it."

"Oh shit," Julian jumped up and grabbed his phone, "I should tell Jaime about what happened and warn him not to come back here tomorrow."

"Really Jules? At this time?" said Emma, glancing at her watch, "it's like two in the morning."

"You're right Em. I'll tell him tomorrow." He sat back down.

"Don't worry, I'll tell him," said Tina, "he'll probably understand better coming from me."

"And what about what we encountered earlier this night? How the hell are we going to be able to investigate this if we can't even leave this house?" Emma asked. Everyone nodded; she did bring up a good point.

"I still have the vial with that black venom," said Tiberius, "I can probably look it up in the library. There's bound to be some information out there. I'll get started." Tiberius got up and silently left the room without another word.

"I think I better get going too," yawned Livvy and she too got up to leave. Now, Emma and Julian were alone in his room. There was nothing awkward about that of course.

"Is it okay if I spend the night here?" Emma asked without even thinking. She soon shut her mouth, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Um sure. You don't have to ask Em. You're always welcome here," said Julian as he went to lay down on his bed. He patted the empty space next to him, beckoning Emma to come there. Emma reluctantly made her way to the bed and laid down, keeping a healthy distance from Julian. "Come here you," said Julian, with a sarcastic edge to his voice. His arm wrapped around Emma's waist and he pulled her closer to him. Emma rested her head against his strong chest, where she heard the beating of his heart. She wondered if he could feel her heart pounding, matching the sound of his. Before she could think twice, sleep took over her.

* * *

**Yay I finally put this up! I meant to do this yesterday, but FF was down unfortunately. Anyways, it's here. And sorry for taking forever to post this chapter. I sort of lost motivation for this and instead started an Infernal Devices fic. But don't worry, my motivation is back for this one now :D**

**Review! Favourite! Follow!**


	7. Mark

**Chapter 7: Mark**

"Julian! Emma! Get up!" someone was whispering loudly from the doorway. Livvy.

"Mmm five more minutes," Emma said groggily and buried her head further into her pillow.

Except, her pillow was stiffer than she expected. Startled, she sat up immediately to see that her "pillow" was none other than Julian.

"Oh, did I interrupt something?" Livvy said, although sarcasm laced her voice.

"What do you want Livvy?" Julian asked in an irritated tone. Apparently he had gotten up, and whether or not he was already awake, Emma had no idea.

"Dad," she stated, "Mark is already here, but Magnus is in the foyer right now. He's opening up the portal to send Dad and the other Exclave members through, and they want you both there." Julian tensed at that. "Don't worry," Livvy said reassuringly, "I should say that they want all of us there."

"Fine," Julian sighed. "How soon do they want us down there?"

"Like now," Livvy replied.

"But we're not even dressed," Emma protested. It was true; they were still wearing their Shadowhunting gear, which was covered in dirt and blood. Not to mention that she and Julian probably stunk, even if they could not smell it.

"Who cares? Besides, the Exclave members are just a bunch of crabby old men and women. Like they can even tell." They laughed, trying to ease the situation.

Emma got out of the bed, Julian right behind her, and together they walked over to Livvy. She left Julian's room without another word. Julian shrugged and went after his younger sister as Emma hurried along after him.

"So where's Ty?" Julian asked Livvy.

"He's already down there with the others. Dad sent me to get you two."

"Ah, I see."

"So, did you both sleep well?" Livvy asked, smiling ever so subtly. Emma could tell this was more than a question.

"Um, yeah, we slept fine," Julian stuttered, ruffling his hair. Emma saw out of the corner of her eyes that Julian was blushing, but she quickly brushed it off.

"It looks like we're here," Emma said a little too fast, but relieved that she didn't have to discuss this further. Livvy's disappointment was evident, but Emma was telling the truth.

Sure enough they had reached the foyer of the Institute, where a dozen of the Exclave members were gathered. Alongside them were Arthur and Rhea Blackthorn, dressed in traveling cloaks and both looking equally nervous. Emma could hardly blame them. The other Blackthorn children were there too, including Tavvy and Ariadne. And Mark.

Emma still blushed at the sight of Mark Blackthorn. When she had first come to live permanently at the Los Angeles Institute, she was taken away by Mark. Mark's mother was a faerie, which resulted in one of eye's being blue in colour and the other gold. Which Emma found absolutely beautiful. Not to mention the pale white-gold cloud of hair, that still looked the same now as it did back then. At that time, Mark was fourteen, two years older than her and Julian. A year ago, when Mark reached eighteen, his parents had sent him off to Idris to finish his studies, deeming it necessary. Emma was upset, but she knew that Mark had not reciprocated her feelings for him. As the years went by, Mark became more distant and aloof, and much more serious. It became much of the subject of Livvy's humour, who constantly teased him. Mark looked tired, probably because of the travel. Emma guessed it was via the portal, which was often very exhausting, even if it was short.

Magnus Bane stood to the side, who stood out among all the dull and boring Shadowhunters. His dark hair was spiked high and accentuated with multicoloured glitter, his signature trademark. He was wearing a skintight black shirt with a sparkling unicorn along with rainbow leggings with tall boots laced to his knees. Emma never really understood his style, but could not judge him from that. She knew how magnificent Bane was and how much he helped in the Mortal War, so she looked up to him. After the War, he and his boyfriend, Alexander Lightwood, had relocated to Los Angeles. It had been five years and he still remained with Alec. Emma was impressed. And, Alec was the tutor to Emma and the Blackthorns, although he had left to do some business in Idris for a few months. They were currently tutorless for the time being.

Magnus's cat-like eyes were following Julian and Emma as they came into the foyer. As Emma looked up at him, he grinned like the Cheshire Cat, in which Emma simply nodded. The room feel silent as Emma realized that everyone else detected her and Julian's presence.

Arthur cleared his throat, trying to break the awkward silence. "Good, you're all here. Now may we proceed as planned?"

"Not yet," said Matthew Branwell, stepping forward to make sure that everybody saw him. "There are a few things we have to clarify. First off, curfew means curfew. Mark, I want you to make sure that these children do not leave this household. Second, I will want you, Mark, to tutor the children while you're here, to make use of your time." Mark kept his face indifferent, so it was impossibly difficult to tell whether or not he was all right with this. "And lastly, I want each and every one of you to be on your best behaviour. Any slip up, then the Blackthorns are kicked out of the Institute. Am I clear?"

Everyone nodded, not wanting to anger the already irate Matthew.

"Very well," said Matthew, looking pleased with himself, "Bane, if you would be so kind to make the Portal."

"Certainly," Magnus grinned and stepped forward to create the Portal. Even after years of being in the Shadow World, Emma always found it fascinating to see the Portal be created. Magnus did it so fluidly and seamlessly, as if he had years of practice. Which would make sense; Emma had heard that Magnus was at least eight hundred years old. Within no time, Magnus conjured up the Portal and took a step back to allow the Shadowhunters through.

"I'll go first," Matthew announced, "Arthur and his wife will follow me, and the rest of you after them." And with that, Matthew stepped through the Portal. Arthur and Rhea went next, shimmering through it to Idris, finally ending with the rest of the Exclave members. Magnus soon closed the Portal, looking exhausted as if making it drained the energy out of him.

"Well," Mark yawned, speaking for the first time, "that was exciting. I'm going to head upstairs to sleep. Meet me in the library later this afternoon around three so we can talk." Mark left to sleep, leaving the others alone with each other.

"I guess that's all for me too," Magnus said making his way towards the entrance. "If you ever need my help, just holler. You know where to find me." He winked at the others, then shut the door behind him.

* * *

As requested by Mark, everyone was at the library promptly at three. For a change neither Emma nor Julian were late. The library was the biggest rooms in the Institute, but not nearly as large as the one in New York. It was old-fashioned, compared to the contemporary look of Los Angeles. The walls were made of stone and dark bookshelves covered nearly every nook and cranny. In the center was a fireplace, which was always lit despite the Californian heat. Around the fireplace were several leather armchairs, where Emma was seated alongside Tina and the other Blackthorns. Silla, Tavvy, and Ariadne were not there, as this wasn't in interest for them.

"So why are we here?" Julian was the first to speak. He had red and blue paint all in his chocolate brown hair, evidence that he was painting before coming to this meeting. Julian hated being interrupted when he was working on his art, so this better be a good reason.

"To know what you did," Mark said, keeping his usual serious expression. He rarely offered a smile and was always so sour about things. Emma always found the dynamic of the Blackthorn family somewhat funny, with the wide arrange of personalities and such. Emma supposed that's what happened in a big family.

"Didn't Dad already tell you?" Julian asked, struggling to keep the annoyance from his voice.

"Yes, but I want to know the real truth from you guys," Mark said matter-of-factly.

"Very well." And Julian told his brother everything, from their hunting trips to what they had discovered last night. He skipped over unimportant details here and there, but besides that, he was entirely truthful while keeping it concise. "Is that what father told you?" Julian said when he was finished, challenging Mark.

Mark looked at Julian with an intensity in his eyes. It was always hard to focus on Mark's eyes, especially because they were two different colours. "Nothing at all," he said. Julian looked upset, as if he was expecting something else.

"Look," said Mark, sensing this change, "I'm not mad at you. At all of you, should I say. I'm furious with the way the Exclave are handling this situation. Honestly, it's not that big a deal. I'm sure other Shadowhunters around the world are doing it, and from the sound of it, it seems like you all accomplished quite a lot. The Exclave is just abiding by the Law as usual and are not looking past it to see what good comes from it." This was one thing Emma liked about Mark; he only spoke the truth and never fibbed.

"What are you going to do about it?" Livvy said, asking her brother.

"There's nothing we can do Livvy," said Mark. "We will just have to listen to what the Exclave wants. And that means no more hunting." Everyone groaned. "I know you're all upset by this, but we can't anger the Exclave even more. And we still want our father to keep the Institute, so we cannot jeopardize the situation any more. But, if you ever need my help for anything, I'm always here. And on the bright side, you can be tutored by me." Emma could tell that he was trying to be funny, but everyone groaned again. It was summer after all, and studies were lax at this time.

"Okay that's it. I'm leaving," Livvy announced and left the library, along with all of her siblings and Tina. Julian looked at Emma and shrugged, also going, presumably to finish his painting. Mark and Emma were the only ones left, and Mark was also getting up to depart.

"Mark, could I ask you something?" she no longer felt anxious like she once did when she talked to Mark.

"Yes?" he said, his eyes urging her to continue.

Emma took a deep breath in before letting it all out. "Well, you see, I have this date thingy on Friday night, which is two days from today. But the problem is that it is at eight that night, which is past curfew and definitely when it is dark. And I don't want to miss it since I've been looking forward to it for a while now. So could you possibly allow me to somehow still leave the Institute?" She exhaled, finished with her rambling and feeling like she had just been running a mile.

"Okay," Mark said, looking unfazed by this.

"You're not going to stop me? I mean, isn't it difficult to let me go out?"

"Look Emma, I know this is important at your age. Besides, I know you and no matter what, you'll find a way out of this place to make sure you go through with your plan. I'm sure the Exclave won't be keeping a tab on who leaves. And since it is only you, I doubt it will be that much trouble."

Emma smiled at him. "Thanks Mark. You're the best!" She knew that last bit sounded childish, but Mark seemed to not have heard her, as he had sauntered to the shelves and began pulling out books to read. Emma breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

Emma made her way to the training room later that day. She had changed into gear and left her phone on the bench to the side. She wasn't alone though. Julian was there, also training as well. There was still paint on his hair, as always.

"I thought you would come up here," Julian mused.

Emma shrugged. "Might as well have some amount of training since we can't go out anymore."

"Well, it's not like we're completely banned from hunting. I'm sure there are things to do in the daytime."

"Like demons come out in broad daylight," Emma huffed. She decided to change the subject. "Why were you surprised that your dad had told Mark the same story as you did?"

Julian picked up a knife and threw it straight at the target, hitting it dead center. His specialty was knife throwing. "I was just expecting him to side with the Exclave, them being the upper authority and all."

"But your father commands them. They should be afraid of him."

"You're right, I guess. But someway in the way the Exclave was working, the roles seemed to be reversed. It's like as if they want to take over the Institute."

"We won't let them, right?"

"Of course not. And we have bigger matters in our hand. I overheard Mark telling Tiberius that he'll help him find out the deal with the black venom. Hopefully we can figure out what is going on."

"And the light," Emma said automatically. That still irked her, even though it had been nearly a week.

"And the light," Julian reiterated, smiling at her. Just then her phone buzzed on the bench next to them. She picked it up to see that it was a text message. From Ryder. _Pick you up at 8 in front of the Institute. Wear something pretty :)_.

Emma blushed at that and hid her phone, before Julian could read it. She turned to look at him, but he glanced away. He had read it. And definitely did not look pleased by it.

* * *

**[Insert evil laugh here] More jealous Jules! I just love making him so jealous of Emma, you know ;)**

**So this was a filler chapter, but I really wanted to get that last bit in. And Magnus :D hehe. I know many of you asked about the TMI characters coming, and here they are. Well one of them. I can't say more because that would be spoilers ;) Although, I did have Jem and Tessa briefly appear in chapter 3.**

**Up next: Ryder and Emma's hot date! And more jealous Jules ;)**


	8. The Devil's Horn

**Chapter 8: The Devil's Horn**

"Tina, I need your help."

"What is it?"

"I'm in a crisis and you're the only person that can help me."

"A crisis? _Dios_, Emma. What is it?"

"I'll explain when you come."

There was a pause. And then, "fine, I'll be there." With that Tina hung up and Emma put her phone on her bedside table. It was Friday. And that night, Ryder was coming to take Emma to their date, whatever that made. Emma still had no idea what to wear, and she was feeling extremely stressed out.

A knock came from the door. "Come in," Emma said. It was Tina. No surprise there. Even though Tina was right down the hall from her, Emma usually called her when she was bored. Emma was lazy after all, when she wasn't out hunting.

"What is it Emma?" Tina said with a tinge of annoyance. "And you better have a good reason for calling me all the way down here?"

"Oh, come on," Emma said teasingly. "It wasn't _that_ far of a walk from your room. And what was so important that you couldn't do it later?"

"Fine, you got me." Tina laughed and she walked over to Emma, plopping down on Emma's bed. "So, what's up?"

"Well, my date with Ryder is tonight."

"Your date? I almost forgot that was tonight?" Tina smirked.

"Sure you did," Emma rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Ryder sent me this text two days ago." She pulled out her phone and showed the text to Tina. Tina kept a straight face and was trying her best not to laugh, but Emma ignored this. She didn't see what was so funny about this, especially between Tina and Livvy. She had asked Tina for help because Tina would understand better and had a great fashion sense. "I have no idea what the hell I'm supposed to wear."

"Emma, it's already seven thirty and you only have half an hour until Ryder comes. You just happened to bring this up with me now?" Tina had no problem dressing up for things. She was a natural beauty and could pull anything together in no time. Emma, on the other hand, was very indecisive and could never find nice clothes to wear. Everything resulted in black. She wished she had the same skill as Tina. She envied Tina. But she still loved her best friend very much.

"I don't know what to wear. Please help me." Emma bent her head down low and looked up at Tina, giving the other girl her best guilty face.

"Come with me," Tina said and grabbed Emma's wrist, marching her to her room.

"Thanks Tina! You're the best!" Emma said enthusiastically.

"You can thank me later," Tina said with a slight smile. She flung open the door to her room and let go of Emma by her dresser. "Wait here," Tina instructed Emma, and walked over to her closet.

Emma always loved Tina's room. Even though Emma wasn't too religious, Tina was and it was nice seeing all the decorations in the room. There were ornate crosses all over the room, of different sorts of shapes and sizes. Tina was a very devout Christian, although did not impose it on Emma. Emma still respected the religion. She was a Shadowhunter after all.

"Ah, here we go," Tina said, pulling some clothes from her closet and placing it on the bed. They were all black in colour, just as Emma liked it. Emma walked over to take a closer examination of the clothes. There was a short, black halter dress and a black leather jacket, in addition to a pair of black bandage leggings and black boots. Emma absolutely loved it. Just her style. Leave it to Tina to know what to put together. Luckily, the two girls were the same size in everything.

Tina turned around, allowing Emma to change into her clothes. Quickly, Emma put on her new set of clothing.

Once Emma was done, she cleared her throat and Tina looked at her, her eyes widening. "Oh Em, you look absolutely beautiful. Now let me add a few finishing touches." She guided Emma to her dresser, where Emma sat on the chair in front of the mirror. "Once you're done with your date, I'll take you shopping. You really need a wardrobe change Em."

"I'll keep that in mind," Emma said, as Tina reached for her makeup box. Emma stayed silent as Tina applied the makeup to Emma's face: black eyeliner, grey eye shadow, thick mascara, foundation, blush, and dark red lipstick. When she was done, she had given Emma a smoky look, the eye makeup swirling mysteriously around Emma's eyes, making them even bluer. Tina worked hastily to fix up Emma's tangled blonde hair, tying it into an elegant bun in the back of Emma's head, allowing a few curls to fall to the sides of her face.

Tina took a deep breath in. "You're stunning, Em. You're sure to catch everyone's attention." Emma looked at herself in the mirror. She was beautiful. She never thought of herself in that way; she wasn't one to care about her own appearance, but there she was, thinking about that. With a jolt, she suddenly wondered what Julian would think of her, but quickly brushed that out of her mind. This was her date with Ryder. Not Julian.

"Thank you so much Tina," Emma said, rising out of her chair and giving Tina a tight hug.

"Come on, let's get you going. He'll be here in five minutes," Tina said rapidly, ushering Emma towards the door. Emma wobbled a little in her newfound boots.

"Wait! I left my phone and my purse in my room." Emma went to her room fast, making sure not to trip. She grabbed her small leather bag, thrusting her phone and ensuring that she had some weapon in it. Sure enough, there was a dagger, just in case something happened. She was a Shadowhunter, and had to carry one. She also put here stele in her bag, before slipping her arm through the strap.

Emma left her room and met up with Tina, who was still waiting for her in front of her room. "Come, let's go," Tina smiled, and led the way down to the foyer. "I'm surprised that Mark let you go to this," Tina said as they made their way.

"It didn't take much convincing," Emma shrugged. "Besides, it's not like I'm going hunting."

"I'm still so angry about that," Tina said, "Jaime is so lucky he got out of that. Sometimes I wish I could live with him." They had not revealed to the Exclave that Jaime was part of their hunting expeditions. As it was, the situation was already bad, and a revelation like this would make matters worse.

"Why won't you?" Emma asked, although she didn't want Tina to leave.

"Because you won't be there," Tina said, slightly red in the face, "and neither would the others," she added hastily.

"Aw, that's sweet," Emma smiled at her friend and reached for Tina's hand, squeezing it.

"We're here," Tina said, rather abruptly. They were here though. Emma checked her phone. It was eight o'clock sharp.

"You look nice," said a voice behind her, and Emma turned back, startled. Julian.

A blush spread across Emma's face. "Oh, um, thanks." She looked down at her boots, hoping to conceal her expression. When did she ever feel this way around her _parabatai_?

The doorbell rang, reverberating through the whole Institute. Emma looked at Julian, who gestured her to open the door. Emma took a deep breath and opened it.

Ryder stood at the steps of the Institute. He was dressed in his usual: a black leather jacket with matching leather pants. His usual unruly, curling black hair was smoothed back, giving him a handsome appeal. His normally dark eyes were nearly silver in the reflected moonlight.

"Emma," he breathed in wonder, scanning her entire body as he stepped forward and kissed Emma on the cheek. Emma flushed, conscious of the moment and fully aware that Julian was watching. "You look absolutely beautiful."

"Thanks," Emma said coyly, "you look very handsome yourself."

"Why, thank you," he said, giving her a crooked grin. "Shall we get going?" He offered his arm, which Emma took.

"Of course," Emma said, "where are we going, by the way?"

"It's a surprise," Ryder said, his eyes glimmering with mystery and something else that Emma couldn't identify it.

"You kids have fun! Don't stay out too late!" Tina called out, giggling. Julian stayed silent.

"Don't worry, we won't," Ryder said as he led Emma away from the Institute, and Emma spared one last glance behind her to see that Julian was staring right at her. And his blue-green eyes were full of sadness. Was this date beginning to be a bad idea?

* * *

Julian waited until Emma and Ryder were out of view until he shut the Institute door. It closed harder that he expected it. Or rather, he slammed the door.

"Hmmm, well it looks like they're going to have fun," said Tina, giving a sideways glance at Julian.

"Yeah, it looks like it," Julian said, trying to sound excited although his heart wasn't into it.

Tina began to walk away from him towards the stairs. "Well, I'm going to be in my room if you need me Jules." And with that, she descended up the stairs.

Julian didn't know why he was feeling this way. Emma was his _parabatai_ and he should support her, not feel jealous over her. Julian hated himself for feeling this way, but he couldn't help him. Even his normal therapy of painting was not working.

He could see that Emma truly wanted this date and there was no stopping her. But it wasn't her date that he was angry about. It was Ryder.

There was something off about him. No, there was something wrong with him that Julian couldn't quite put his finger over. Dangerous and suspicious. That's what it was. And Julian couldn't help but feel this way whenever Emma was with Julian. He could only hope that Emma would make it out alive this night.

* * *

"So this is where you're taking me," Emma said in awe. Ryder had hailed a taxi and they had driven off a good thirty minutes away from the Institute. They were down towards central part of Los Angeles, where all the glitz and glam were. In front of Emma was a low-lying building, concealed by glamours. To normal mundanes, it looked like a dilapidated store, though past the building, it was a nightclub. To be precise, a warlock-run nightclub. In glittering blood red letters at the top of the building was the sign: THE DEVIL'S HORN.

Emma knew of this place. Nearly everyone, both Shadowhunters and Downworlders alike were aware of it. It was a popular Downworld haunt, and Shadowhunters rarely ventured to it since it was not their property.

"I've never been here," Emma said, dumbfounded. Ryder had gotten out of the taxi and held his hand out for Emma, who absent-mindedly took it, still staring at the nightclub. Even the building was red, although a bright red. All different creatures were coming in and out: werewolves, vampires, faeries, and, of course, warlocks. There was even a man with all red skins, horns, and fiery eyes that were actually flames. Emma looked away from him.

"I thought it would be appropriate to take you here," Ryder said, making polite conversation. "There is a big party here tonight, so you'll see all sorts of Downworlders here. Oh, and in order to get in, you have to have a date."

"Ah, so that's why you asked me," Emma said, everything clicking in.

"That and I just wanted to see your pretty face again," Ryder said, grinning at her. Emma raised her eyebrows delicately at him. "What, you don't believe me?" He seemed disappointed.

"Well, it has been a year," she said, as if that explained everything. Ryder looked down at her, his eyes understanding.

"Do you know how difficult it was to carry on? Without you? I went almost crazy Em," he ruffled his hair out of eyes impatiently, "I just had to ask you. And now that you're here with me, I can hardly believe it. It just feels so surreal."

"How did you find me?" Emma asked. That question had been nagging her throughout their ride here together.

"Simple. I know that Keiko's is one of your favourite places, so I've been hanging around there for the past few days. I knew you were bound to show up eventually."

"Well, you were right," Emma laughed, "on both accounts." She winked and Ryder took her to the entrance of the club, still holding her hand reassuringly.

A faerie man dressed in a bright red suit was standing at the doorway, holding a notepad. "Ah Ryder," said the man in a slightly high-pitched voice that hurt Emma's ears. Obviously these two knew each other. "I was wondering when you would come. And who is this beautiful maiden?"

"Oh," Emma let out without knowing it, blushing.

"This here is Emma Carstairs," Ryder said, introducing her to the faeries, "and this is Key, a good friend of mine."

Emma held out her hand to Key, who took it and shook it. Emma noticed that he had six, rather than five, fingers. "Nice to make your acquaintance," she said courteously.

"Likewise," Key grinned to reveal two sets of teeth like daggers, "I see you're a Shadowhunter. We don't get many of your folk here."

"I figured," Emma said indifferently, not in the mood to converse with Key.

"Now, may I escort you two inside?" Key said, getting the hint. Ryder nodded and beckoned Emma to follow. Key led them to through the door to a small room with double doors.

"The party is through there," Key gestured to the door. "May I take your coats? I'll store it for you."

Ryder shrugged out of his leather jacket and handed it to Key, who took it. Ryder was wearing a skintight black shirt, which accentuated his muscles and abs. Emma, too, took off her – or rather Tina's – jacket, revealing her back and nearly all her shoulders.

"And your purse, Miss Carstairs?" Key said, making a move towards Emma's bag. But Emma, with her Shadowhunter agility, was faster than him and moved back before he could reach him.

"I would rather that I keep this with me," she said coldly, glaring at the faerie.

"Very well," Key said, his shoulders sinking, giving up on a fight that hadn't even started. "Just go through those two doors. Enjoy yourself." He left Ryder and Emma alone with each other.

"You ready, Em?" Ryder asked Emma.

"Ready as ever." She squared her shoulders as Ryder pushed the heavy, wooden doors open. Emma's jaws dropped at the sight in front of her. The entire room was painted black and so was the furniture. Red lights were circling around the room, giving it a hellish aura. At the far end, a creature with three arms and wings was acting as the party's DJ whose music was blaring loudly, reverberating the club. To the side, there was a table with a plethora of drinks and snacks. In the centre was the dance floor, where there was a hodgepodge of creatures – fey, vampires, werewolves – smashed in close quarters and dancing together to the beat. There was not a single Shadowhunter in sight, though Emma expected it.

"Come on," Ryder said eagerly, and brought Emma towards the dance floor. They began dancing together, facing each other. "You can do better than that," Ryder shouted above the music, and turning Emma around, making her dance with him. Emma couldn't deny that was fun. They continued like that for a while, as more people piled around them. Their hips swayed to the beat, and Emma was aware of Ryder pecking little kisses along her bare shoulders. His lips tickled, but Emma did enjoy it. Emma eventually slowed down, getting slightly tired.

"What's wrong?" Ryder asked, concern and disappointment in his voice.

"I'm just tired," Emma said. There was no point lying.

"Let's go get you a drink," Ryder said, taking Emma's wrist and leading her to the table to the side. "Pick any."

Emma surveyed the drinks. There were all different colours: hot pink, lime green, electric blue, magenta. Even swirls of colours. Emma had a feeling that they were probably spiked with warlock magic. It was a warlock nightclub, after all. Besides, she only wanted a sip. What more could that do?

Emma reached for the electric blue drink and took a sip. Immediately, a buzzing sensation burned down her throat, instantly waking her up. She set the cup back down on the table.

"I think that's good for now," Emma slurred.

Ryder laughed and took her back to the dance floor. They began to dance together, although more vigorously than last time. They had somehow made it to the centre of the dance floor, where everyone was dancing hardcore. Emma felt drunk, but she could care less. It was a club after all.

Ryder spun her around to face him, and Emma twined her hands around his neck. She stared into his dark eyes, although they were unreadable. Then, unexpectedly, he bent down and crushed his lips to her. He began kissing her hard, and Emma gasped out loud. Reluctantly, she obliged, meeting his lips. He tasted as werewolves always did. The city, leather, dirt, and dog. They continued kissing for what felt like forever, their lips moving in sync with each other. Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw the other creatures around her stop dancing and moving in a circle around her and Ryder so they were the surrounding them. Suddenly, Emma broke the kiss, conscious of the scene they were displaying. Ryder looked disappointed, though his lips were very much swollen.

"Um Ryder, why is everyone staring at us?" Emma asked worriedly.

Ryder did something unexpected. He began laughing hardly. His laughs had howls mixed into it.

"Ryder, this isn't funny," Emma snapped.

"You fool!" Ryder exclaimed. "You absolute fool!"

"What do you mean?" Emma said, hurt. His kiss still burned on her lips.

"You didn't really think that I wanted to take you to a date here?"

"I don't understand," Emma said, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"Oh you stupid Nephilim," Ryder spat out. Now everyone in the club had gathered around her, giving her a sinister look. Ryder stepped back to join the others, grinning like the devil. "I didn't bring you here so we could have fun. I brought you here to kill you."

* * *

**Uh oh. Looks like Emma's in trouble. Don't you guys just love cliffhangers? :)**

**Thanks for all the support! You guys are the best :D**

**And with that, I'm off to read _Vampire, Scones, and Edmund Herondale_! I've been dying to get my hands on this Bane Chronicle. Gotta love the Herondales ;)**


	9. A Spark in the Night

**Chapter 9: A Spark in the Night**

"Kill me?" Emma asked, dumbfounded. She still couldn't wrap her hand around what Ryder had just said. For once, Emma had nothing more to say.

"Yes," Ryder drawled, "like I just said."

"You're going to kill me?" Emma repeated herself, knowing she sounded utterly stupid.

"Yes, we are all going to kill you," Ryder said with annoyance.

Of all the possible times that Emma could have been killed, it had to be now. She always thought that she would die an honourable Shadowhunter in battle, not while being ambushed. And by Downworlders of that. After the Mortal World, the ties between Downworlders and Shadowhunters had tremendously strengthened, for both species had to fight side by side in order to survive. Emma had seen no such reason for why the Downworlders would want to hate the Shadowhunters now. Or, was Emma just confused? Could this be a possible vendetta against her?

"Why?" Emma's own voice sounded very far and distant to her.

"You Shadowhunters are so selfish," Ryder spat, "for years us Downworlders have been left behind in the shadow. We have always watched as your lot triumphed over us and acted so superior. We are tired and sick of you and your kind's haughtiness. And not to mention how awful you have treated the Downworlders."

"Awful?" Emma asked, appalled. Emma never treated Downworlders as beings that were lesser than her. Yes, maybe she did break up with Ryder, but it certainly was not because he was a Downworlder. And if that was the reason that Ryder would believe, then was his hatred for Shadowhunters personal? Although, why would all the other Downworlders ally with him to take her down? Emma looked around at the people surrounding Ryder. There were at least fifty of them: vampires, werewolves, faeries, and even warlocks. All of them were giving menacing looks at Emma. Out of the corner of her eye, Emma thought she saw a figure dressed in black, but when she turned to look, there was nobody there. "We have been nothing but kind and generous to you all after the Mortal War," Emma said, trying to reason with him. She knew she sounded pathetic, but before she could continue, Ryder cut in.

"Kind and generous?" Ryder echoed her words. "You still treat us like shit, placing us at the bottom of the chain. You have been nothing but rude to us all. We have to watch as you Shadowhunters act like you own this world, though I should remind you that we are all working together to get rid of demons. She is rising, and once she has risen, the demons will be unstoppable."

"Who?" Emma interjected. "Who is she?" Emma felt like she had heard about this "she" before.

Ryder ignored her. "Shadowhunters won't allow us to fight demons anymore, with those stupid laws of yours. So we Downworlders will fix this problem by killing each and every one of you Nephilim. Starting with you, Emma Carstairs."

Emma felt numb all over her body. She was going to die. She was sure of it. She had always imagined a different death, like while slaying a demon or something. She wished that some of her Shadowhunter friends would be there to help her out of this situation. Most of all, she wished that Julian, her _parabatai_, was there. He would know what to do, and together they could take down this army of Downworlders. If only she had a weapon of some sorts…

With a sudden jolt, Emma realized that she _did_ have a weapon after all. Luckily, she was still holding her purse and she felt grateful that she hadn't handed it over to Key when he had asked for it. She deftly slid her hand into her purse, rummaging around for her dagger and hoping that Ryder wouldn't see this slight motion.

But she was wrong. "What are you doing?" he said, his dark eyes narrowing suspiciously at her purse. But Emma was too fast; she found her grip on the dagger and pulled it out, pointing it right at Ryder's heart. "Someone, stop her!" Ryder exclaimed in alarm.

Emma felt her arms twist behind her, her dagger clattering unceremoniously to the ground. She glanced behind her to see two vampires holding her back with a death grips. Emma was strong, but it would be impossible to take down these two with her bare hands.

Ryder approached her. "Look at me," he said, calmly and coldly. Emma did quite the opposite, gazing down at the ground, refusing to meet his eyes. "I said, look at me!" Ryder shouted, and one of the vampires painfully yanked Emma's head back so she was in contact with Ryder. She and Ryder were a mere inches from each other's faces when Ryder said, "now, be prepared for a quick and painful death," enunciating each word, while pulling a dagger from the back of his leather pants. "Hail and farewell, Emma Carstairs."

Emma closed her eyes, not wanting to see her own death in front of her. She wanted it to happen before she could react. She took a peek to see Ryder raising the blade back, then shut her eyes fast. She always wondered what death would feel like. Her parents had died during the Mortal War, and it was something she tried to not think about. Though on the plus side, if she died she would be reunited with her parents forever.

Moments passed and Emma felt the vampires' grip on her slacken. The pain had not come yet. Did Ryder kill her so fast that she had not felt anything at all? No, she was still alive. She was sure of it. She could still feel the club around her, the heat and perspiration of all the Downworlders surrounding her. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see a hand grabbing Ryder by the shoulder and spun him around, away from Emma. A hand entwined with marks.

"No one can dare kill my _parabatai_," said a threatening voice that was attached to the hand from behind Ryder. Julian.

Hope flared inside Emma. She was saved! She thought no one would ever find her in this place and that her death would be imminent.

Ryder's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, though no words came out. He was entirely speechless.

"Any last words?" Julian said, giving the werewolf a threatening glare. Emma had never seen Julian this menacing before. Ryder didn't even say anything back to Julian; he was still in complete shock.

Then, Julian did something completely unexpected. He grinned at Ryder; he grinned like the devil. Before Ryder could react, Julian pulled back his blade and stabbed Ryder, right through the heart.

Ryder let out a short gasp before collapsing to the ground, landing in his own pool of blood. The vampires immediately released Emma, too surprised to even stop Julian. Emma fell down, seeing that Ryder was right in front of her. Her dagger was right in front of her, and she reached for it, clutching it to her chest. Julian held out his hand and Emma took it, as he pulled her to her feet.

"I thought you'd never find me," Emma whispered, feeling entirely breathless. "Thanks Jules. How did you do it?"

Julian shrugged. "I have my ways. But now is not the time to discuss that. We need to get you out of here."

"We?" Emma asked. Were there others here besides Julian?

"Of course we wouldn't leave you alone," laughed a voice behind her. Emma spun around to see Tina, dressed in her all black Shadowhunting gear, with Jaime right next to her. Emma gasped in surprise and gave Tina a short hug, while smiling at Jaime.

"I never thought any of you would come," Emma said to the two cousins, feeling extremely grateful and blessed.

"Okay, enough with the sentimental feelings," Julian said, not unkindly, "we have a bigger problem here."

And he was right. The Downworlders were advancing at them, angered that they had killed Ryder, their leader. Or so Emma presumed he was their leader because of the way he was acting in front of them. But how would they all take down these Downworlders? Sure, they could do it. But after what Ryder had said to Emma, about how the Shadowhunters had always treated Downworlders so awfully, Emma didn't want to kill any of these beings. One death was enough. She didn't want to betray their trust, and if they did kill the Downworlders, the tension between the two species would intensify and never be resolved.

A terrible dilemma to be in indeed. And how could she convince Julian and the others? How much of Ryder's speech had they heard? Would they feel the same as Emma did?

"We can't," Emma said desperately, hoping to convince her friends from killing the Downworlders.

"What do you mean Em?" Julian demanded, looking slightly ignored.

"If we kill them, then it will only make matters worse," Emma said, as the Downworlders came closer to them.

"You should decide faster Emma," Tina urged on. They were in short range of the Downworlders, and the only way to survive would be a straight line of fire for the Shadowhunters. They were outnumbered, four to fifty. Killing them was the only solution to the problem.

"Think fast, Nephilim," said a warlock, "your death will be over sooner than later."

"Not so fast," boomed another voice, from the opposite end of the club. Startled, everyone turned around to see the source of the voice. Magnus Bane stood at the entrance, along with Catarina Loss, her blue skin looking electric under the club's exotic lights. The Downworlders immediately fell silent. Catarina Loss was the High Warlock of Los Angeles, and all the Downworlders respected her, even in times like this.

"No blood will be shed tonight," Catarina said in her singsong voice, stepping forward. As she walked, everyone parted to clear the path for her, leaving Magnus in her wake. She reached the four Shadowhunters, and Emma felt instantly relieved. Hopefully Catarina would side with them.

"There will be no war tonight," Catarina announced, spinning around to face all the Downworlders. "There will be no killing of innocent Shadowhunters too."

"Innocent!" a vampire shouted from the crowd. "They trespassed in our territory without our permission. Only the girl was to be here tonight."

"It's not trespassing if we were allowed entrance from one of your kind," Jaime said, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Magnus Bane. Then it clicked. Emma figured that Magnus must have been the one who let the Shadowhunters in, and he must have contacted Catarina right after. Or something along those terms. Emma looked at Julian questioningly, who just shrugged.

"Bane," spat a warlock, "you have betrayed us all. So have you Catarina."

"How have we betrayed you?" Magnus said, his cat eyes flaring with anger. Emma never thought the eccentric Magnus could get angry. "We have always stood by your side. The Shadowhunters are not to blame. Trust me, I've lived way more years than you lot and have learned that Shadowhunters are not all that awful. Listen to you. Thinking you're the superior race. There is no such thing as one. Stop behaving like children and shape your act. If you want to avoid bloodshed, then don't start it." He gave them all a deadly glare while they stared up at him in awe. Emma could hardly blame them. Apart from all the craziness, Magnus was a wise old soul. He was eight hundred years old after all and must have seen so much in his life.

There was a silence. Then, "we shall kill you all!" chanted a vampire. The rest of the Downworlders roared in agreement.

"Oh shit," Emma muttered under her breath.

"Don't worry Carstairs," Magnus said, appearing beside her, "we'll distract them so you can all get out safely.

Then, chaos erupted in the scene. The Downworlders charged head first at the Shadowhunters, Catarina, and Magnus. Emma steadied her dagger and saw her companions do the same out of the corner of her eye.

The Downworlders were within arms reach and Emma thrust out her dagger, only to have it clatter to the ground once more. She looked up to see a transparent shield around her and the others. Outside, the Downworlders were staying still, as if they were in some sort of suspended animation. Magnus and Catarina had their arms stretched out, as they were using their magic to protect the Shadowhunters from the avenging Downworlders.

"Go," Catarina said with a struggle. The shield was draining the energy out of her. "We'll keep it up. Go and the shield will stay around you until you leave this place."

"We're not leaving without you!" Emma said stubbornly. They had just saved her life and she didn't want to risk theirs by leaving them behind. Tina had already started walking ahead of them, Jaime right behind her.

"No, go Emma," said Magnus tiredly, "we can take care of them ourselves. And I promise, no bloodshed." There was a ghost of a smile on Magnus's lips.

"Emma we have to go," Julian said, grabbing her arm and pushing her in front of him.

"Julian let me go!" Emma protested, but she knew it was useless.

"They'll be fine," he said reassuringly, "I'm sure Magnus has been in plenty more life-threatening situation." Emma only hoped he was right as they burst outside of the club, the night air washing over her face.

Jaime had already pulled his van by the curb, waiting for Julian and Emma. Tina was in the front seat. "Hurry up!" she said, "before they find us missing."

Julian flung the door open, ushering Emma in before getting himself in and shutting the door. Jaime slammed the accelerator down and drove off into the Los Angeles night.

* * *

**Eh, I'm not really happy with this one. I was stuck on how to write it, and I would have put more, but I felt that it's appropriate for the next chapter. Speaking of which, I have a special surprise in that one! And I'll be updating very soon :)**

**Thanks for all the reviews so far! You guys are the best!**


	10. A Time for Firsts

**Chapter 10: A Time for Firsts**

"Why the hell did you decide to sneak off?" Mark Blackthorn said furiously.

Emma, Julian, and Tina had made it safely back to the Institute in one piece. They thought they would not get caught, but boy were they wrong. Mark Blackthorn had been patiently waiting, like the calm before a storm. But once he saw the three Shadowhunters enter the Institute, he broke off into a fit of anger. It was like what happened with Arthur Blackthorn all over again.

"It was the only way we could save Emma!" Julian protested. It was the truth.

"Julian, are you forgetting something?" Mark shouted back. Julian threw his brother a disconcerting look. What could he possibly be forgetting? "The Law, Julian," Mark said irritatedly in response to Julian's expression.

Emma had never seen Mark this way. He was always calm and serious and never faltered from those moods. But this was a different Mark. This was a Mark she had never seen in the twelve years that she had known the Blackthorn family. It was almost… terrifying.

"I don't care about the Law!" Julian said, exasperated, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"_Dura lex, sed lex_," Mark hissed. Emma automatically knew what he was saying. The Law is hard but it is the Law.

"You can hardly blame Julian," Emma interjected. It was true. It was her date after all and Julian was only trying to protect her. Isn't that what _parabatai_ are supposed to do for each other?

"Emma shut up," Mark barked. Emma saw Tina cringe behind her. They had never seen Mark like this before. "This is family matter."

"Oh and it's like we're not part of your family?" Tina said, raising her voice. "Emma and I are as much a part of the Blackthorn family as you are. We should have our say in it."

Mark stared at Tina then closed his eyes, taking in a few deep breaths as though to calm himself.

"Mark," Julian said in a low voice, not wanting to spark his anger again, "you have to understand. If we didn't go there tonight, then Emma could have died. She is a part of family, and we do not want to lose another member." Julian then walked away, his shoulders hunched over. He was in no mood to further argue with his elder brother.

The three of them watched as Julian went. Mark sighed. "I didn't mean to disappoint him that much," he said.

"You know Jules," Emma said, "he's always keeping a watch on us, protecting the family and all. He just wants to make sure that none of us get hurt."

"I shouldn't have gotten angry like that," Mark said, turning away from them so he could hide his expression.

"It's alright Mark," Tina said encouragingly. "It was just the heat of the moment I guess. We all have those times when we get extremely frustrated and tired."

"Yeah, but this is different. I promised my father that I would look after the family and make sure that no harm is done and that the Law is not broken. It's only been my third day and I've broken all three of those rules. I am a failure."

"No you're not," Emma said adamantly, "as long as no one finds out about this, we should be fine."

Mark shrugged. "I guess. Well, I'm off to bed. It's getting really late and it's best if I get some sleep. We should talk about this tomorrow though. I want to know why the Downworlders suddenly hate us." So Mark was listening. When they had got home, a shouting match had broken out between Mark and Julian, and Emma was pretty sure that Mark didn't hear anything about what truly happened this night. "I'll see you later girls," Mark said tiredly and wandered off into the darkness of the Institute.

Emma and Tina made their way back to Emma's room. Even though they were utterly exhausted, they were not ready to fall asleep. Emma swung open her door to see that her room was already occupied. Livvy was sitting at the edge of the bed, grinning up at Tina and Livvy.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Emma said, barely hearing her own voice. She was too shocked. It was nearly three in the morning, and she definitely expected Livvy to be asleep.

"So," Livvy said, dragging out the "o", "how was your hot date?" She winked at Emma.

"Do we really have to talk about this?" Emma said, not wanting to tell Livvy about the horrid events of the night.

"Um, of course you do," Livvy said, as if it was obvious.

Emma looked at Tina, wanting her friend to relay the details. "It's your story Em," Tina said.

"Fine," Emma sighed and shut the door. She told Livvy about everything that happened during the night, and for once Livvy didn't interrupt. She looked up at Emma with those blue-green eyes, the same eyes that Emma could get lost in on Julian. When she was done telling her story, Livvy's eyes had widened so much in complete shock.

"So, what you're saying is that the Downworlders have a sudden grudge against us Shadowhunters and want to kill us?" she said, after a long silence.

Emma nodded. "And Ryder said something about some lady rising. It was the same thing that Julian and I heard a few days ago when we were hunting. Somehow these are all connected."

"Could the Downworlders be possessed?" Livvy suggested. "It makes absolutely no sense for them to suddenly turn on us."

"We never thought about that," Tina said. It was true. "Maybe they had been harbouring these feelings for a long time and only revealed it now?"

"That could be," Livvy said half-heartedly, "although it still doesn't make sense. And that talk about she is rising. I say it's possession."

"You can't be sure," Emma said.

"Hmmm, not yet Emma. You know what, I'll tell Tibs about this. He's been researching the black venom, but there's been no luck. This bit of information may be able to help him, though."

"You're right," Tina said, "Tiberius would be our best bet for solving this out."

"I only hope so," Livvy said, her eyes distant and wistful, "I'll inform him now. He's probably still awake. I swear that boy is nocturnal." Livvy left the room. She was no longer that excited young girl eager about Emma's date. Now she was an older girl, a Shadowhunter, taking a stand and thinking of what was best to help this problem.

"I think I should hit the bed," Tina said and yawned, stretching out her long, thin arms. "Night Em."

"Good night Tina," Emma said, not looking at her friend as Tina left the room.

"And Emma?" Tina said, peeking her head into Emma's room.

"Yeah?" Emma said.

"Try not to think about this too much. I'm sure we'll figure this all out." Leave it to Tina to always look on the bright side. Emma could only hope.

In the end, Emma couldn't sleep. She lay in her bed, the pale moonlight trickling in through her windows. Every time she closed her eyes, she kept seeing Ryder and the other Downworlders, taunting her and laughing at her menacingly. She tried to get rid of these terrible memories, but couldn't, no matter how hard she tried.

Eventually, Emma found herself slipping out of her bed and climbing the tower steps to the rooftop. She liked going up there; it cleared her mind and helped her relax. As she opened the door to the roof, she saw that she was not alone.

Julian stood against the railing of the roof. For once he was not painting as he normally did when he was up here, but was looking across the night at the ocean. He was all black and white, his sharp angles emphasized by the moon. He didn't turn to look at Emma as she shut the door. Emma sauntered over to him and stood beside him, trying to follow his gaze.

"You know what I hate the most?" Julian said, still not looking at Emma.

"What?" Emma genuinely asked.

"I hate how I try my hardest at protecting the family from harm, but I end up getting trouble instead. It's like I'm trying to defend everyone at my own cost. And I'm not even rewarded for it."

"You are rewarded," Emma said gently. She didn't like when Julian was all angsty like this. She liked when he was the fun-loving and protective Julian.

"You must hate me, being all cynical and selfish."

"I don't hate you. I could never hate you Jules. You are my _parabatai_ after all." She emphasized the last part, as if that explained everything. It did, but Julian didn't seem convinced.

"Being your _parabatai _doesn't mean enough," he said, gripping the railing so tight that his knuckles were paper white.

"Julian, what do you mean?" Emma said, confused. Why was Julian being so mysterious and ambiguous? This was certainly not the Julian that Emma had known for years.

"You would never think of me the same way," he turned to look at her. His eyes were so intense that Emma wanted to look away, but couldn't. She felt pulled towards him. She had never felt anything like this before.

"Of what way?" Emma asked, feeling breathless though she didn't know why.

"This way," Julian said huskily. He breathed a sigh of resignation and then closed the gap between them with his lips. Emma could barely process what was happening. Julian was moving his lips across hers and Emma was still in shock. Julian was kissing her. Emma Carstairs. His _parabatai_.

Emma couldn't deny it. She enjoyed the feeling. Reluctantly, she kissed him back. He breathed a sigh of relief against her mouth and wrapped his arms around her, crushing her body against his. Emma twined her fingers around Julian's hair, feeling the silky curls in her fingers.

Julian turned her around and crushed her against the hard railing. Emma yelped in pain, but didn't stop kissing him. They continued kissing, small butterfly kisses becoming harder and harder. Julian flicked his tongue against her mouth, asking for entrance. Emma allowed it and their tongues clashed.

After what felt like forever, they finally broke for air, breathing heavily.

"By the Angel," Emma exhaled, "what was that?"

"I don't care," Julian said, pulling her close and nuzzling her neck. "I love you. I love you so much, Emma Carstairs." He kissed her on the cheek, on her temple, all over her face, and finally met her mouth. "Whatever you do, don't stop," he said against her mouth.

"I won't," Emma said, returning his kisses. They stood there in the moonlight, completely entwined with each other. And Emma couldn't help but feel that this was so wrong, yet so right at the same time.

* * *

**And there's the little surprise! Okay not little, but rather big :P Yay for Jemma! I hope I did this right and didn't overdo anything.**

**Yeah, so this chapter was kinda short, but I just really wanted to get this last part in. Besides, I updated earlier today, so that's a plus :D**

**So, for those of you who follow my Infernal Devices fic, you may have already seen this announcement, but I'm going to say it again. Basically, I'm leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for a vacation out of the country. That unfortunately means that I won't be able to update this fic until after I come back :( But I'll still be checking my PM and my twitter ( kvcampanella), so if anyone wants to contact me, feel free to. **

**Well, until next time!**

**~The Pale Red Queen :)**


	11. Author's Note

**Heyyyy guys! So yes, I'm back from my trip. Unfortunately, I have some bad news for you all. I have decided to put this story on hiatus for the time being. Don't worry, it doesn't mean that I am completely quitting it. I will eventually finish it, but I'm just not going to work on it for now. I haven't been exactly motivated to continue, and I really want to focus on my TID story. Thanks for all of your support so far! Really, you guys are the best :) I hope to continue this story in the near future!**

**~ The Pale Red Queen**


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